Zootopia Bound
by Dr.D180
Summary: When a surprise attack on Earth forces Protector John Parker to flee, he finds himself on a new world with nothing but a damaged ship. What begins as his escape attempt turns into something greater as he becomes embroiled in the planet's own troubles. Forced to carefully juggle his commitments, John will have to tread a fine line between what is right and what must be done.
1. Prologue: Graduation

**2/26/2017: This chapter has been edited to be better then before**

 **Hopefully, I did a good job.**

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"Wakey Wakey!"

The voice's words failed to wake me from my sleep, my pointed ears having previously been shut after a long night. The sound made some headway though, as my ears shot up to scan for threats.

"Hey! Your oversleeping you know!"

Those words finally managed to wake me, my eyes slowly opening to the world, the sun's bright rays pouring into the room. The light was too much for my tired eyes as I turned around to face the wall, trying to gain the strength to get up from the warm confines of my bed.

"What do you call a protectorate apprentice that had too much last night?"

My sleep deprived mind failed to recognize the female voice as I listened to its words.

" **LAAAAAAAAAATE!"**

The sudden realization and sheer volume of the accusation made me shoot up from my bed, and slam my head into the roof of my bunk, leaving a dent in it. I fell back down to my bed with as I cradled my aching skull, pain leaving me dazed

I then heard the same voice let out a giggle at my self induced injury. I let out a groan of annoyance as I realized who I had to blame for this.

"I don't appreciate the wake up call, Avian."

It, or she as it preferred, giggled again. Before a blue hologram of a female avian appeared before me, lacking clothes and any sexual organs. On her face was the shit eating grin she always had after a prank.

"Oh c'mon on! It just too funny to pass up!" She said, her voice projected by the room's intercom.

I sighed as I got out of my bunk and onto my feet, clad in only my boxers

"Besides, if you didn't wake up soon, you actually will be late."

I looked over at the digital clock, and confirmed that I had about twenty minutes until the ceremony started. More than enough time to get ready. Apparently my roommates thought otherwise, as all the other bunks in the room were also empty.

"You could've just woken me up with everyone else." I grumbled as I passed Avian's hologram, heading towards the bathroom to freshen up.

"You had a lot last night, figured you could use the extra sleep." She said as I closed the bathroom door.

I couldn't help but smile at the response, despite her antics, she cared, and I always appreciate it.

A few minutes later I emerged from the bathroom with clean teeth and freshly combed fur. I made my way over to the lockers.

Reaching mine, I opened it to find my clothes and the uniform of the protectorate hanging inside. I got the pants on with little trouble, while the armored vest slipped over my body easily. The bright blue vest adorned with the symbol of the Terran Protectorate.

Grabbing everything else I owned from the locker, I closed the locker for the last time. Then moving in front of the full body mirror one of the roommates had installed. As a fox, I barely took up half of the mirror.

I took in my reflection, from my well kept crimson fur and tan underbelly, to my blue eyes. My bushy tail as clean as can be and claws freshly sharpened. While my black denim pants and dress shirt was surrounded by a protectorate uniform. An adult fox in a organization that enforced justice across the galaxy.

Mom would've been proud.

I looked around the dorm, to the place I had lived while I trained, studied, and learned to get where I am today.

This was the last time I would ever see it.

It was hard not to get attached to the place after so long. But it had to be left behind. I had a long life ahead of me. One in the Terran Protectorate.

So I said my silent goodbyes and walked out the door and into the main lobby, where all the other dorms of the building connected. The lobby had only had a single soul in it, a male human in some pajamas, sipping coffee near a window.

Taking notice of me, the human looked over and called out; "Bit of a late start, ay John?"

"I could say the same thing to you, Johnny." I shot back.

Jonathan, or Johnny, as he was often called, chuckled before responding. "You know me, I'm waiting until I actually _need_ to be there."

"One wonders how you became valedictorian."

"Cause I'm a fuckin beast!." He jokingly said, while a hint of a smile arose on my muzzle at his words.

That's Johnny for you. He lives his life about as lazily as he can, but when it counts, he goes the extra mile and then some.

Looking at the time, I saw there was fifteen minutes until the graduation ceremony started.

"So, see you at the ceremony in fifteen?"

"Yup, see ya John."

"See ya."

Leaving Johnny behind to finish his coffee, I exited the lobby and found my way towards the skybridge that connected this building to the protectorate's HQ. As I came to the exit, I saw an female avian in a protectorate uniform fiddling around with a vending machine.

"Darn it." She mutterered.

"Having trouble?" I asked as I approached.

The avian turned around to look at me for a moment before she recognized me.

"Oh, hey John..." She greeted. "...And yeah, the vending machine just swallowed my pixels."

"Sucks."

"Yeah, A nice cold can of Oculemonade, just beyond my reach." She said, sighing as she did.

"First the coffee machine breaks, now this. Can this day get any worse?" She continued, her words causing me to frown. It was always a bad omen when the coffee machine breaks.

"I don't think so, only so much can happen in one day before fate gets tired of torturing you." I reassured, pushing my superstitious thoughts away.

The avian chuckled. "Yeah? Well lets hope it happens soon, could use some good news." She said, turning to me as she did.

"Speaking of, congratulations on graduating. You deserve it." She continued. "If you get assigned to some distant world, don't forget you'll always have friends here on Earth!"

She was one of the support staff for the Protectorate, doing all the things that protectors wouldn't do, like balancing the books and maintaining equipment. So she and others never traveled far from Earth.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." I said, before looking at the clock mounted on the wall. Ten minutes till I was late.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I need to get going." I said, making the avian check the time as well.

"It's fine, bye John." She said, understanding that I couldn't be late for this.

"See ya around." I responded as I walked out of the door and onto the skybridge. The structure that connected the Protectorate buildings together. From here, I got a view that never got old.

The view of the Manhattan skyline was a cluster of activity, from various ships flying to their destinations to the mass of cars on the ground. All around beautiful skyscrapers that had countless decorative plants on their sides, giving them a unique look that was pleasing to the eye.

Meanwhile, the sun was shining bright in the sky, and only a few clouds drifted about. The mid spring weather being just cool enough to keep everyone safe from the unrelenting heat of the sun. All while a gentle breeze flowed through my fur.

Perfect weather for such a important day.

The skybridge had its windowed walls retracted at the moment, allowing those traveling on them to enjoy said weather. Metal supports keeping the roof from caving in under the weight of soil and grass on the roof.

Walking forward, I eventually came to an area where the walls and ceiling ended, where there was nothing but the pathway before me. On a platform in the center, was the Tree of The Protectorate.

This tree had stood since the founding of the Terran Protectorate. Its large size and old age meant to symbolize the strength and dignity of of the Protectorate. Its roots extended from the platform here all the way back down to the ground, the tree growing as the Protectorate grew after its founding.

The tree itself was beautiful as well, pink petals growing on the branches fell to the ground in the gentle breeze while chimes played their songs from their hanging places. Meanwhile an array of bushes and flowers were planted around it, completing a beautiful garden that many could be captivated by.

"Weary. Every day, more petals to sweep." Said a robotic voice, interrupting my thoughts.

Turning to the source, I saw one of the janitors sweeping the pink petals off the platform, their forms slowly drifting down to Earth. The janitor was clearly a Glitch, from his robotic voice to his statement of mood before he spoke… And the fact that he had metal skin.

"Frustrated. They have me sweeping the bridge every hour like I'm a machine or something." He said, his voice sounding just masculine enough through the robotic filter to identify as male.

"Hang in there, just two days to retirement!" I called out.

The glitch looked over to me. "Eager. Yes… It can't come fast enough."

And it will be a good retirement, Protectorate pays everyone, including janitors, very well.

I moved on from the tree and it's tiring janitor towards the end of the skybridge. Where a open door was waiting along with one of the countless instructors from training. A human male that had been in charge of weapon training.

"Cutting it close Parker, you better get inside before the ceremony starts." He said when he noticed me. I only nodded as I passed him and entered the building.

Inside was a small crowd of beings in the same uniform I had, all tailored to their size and shape. On the wall were paintings of all the grand protectors that had ever served in history. There were twenty five paintings of the past members, while another five were those who were serving today.

Grand protectors are the highest rank anyone can ever achieve in the Protectorate, and there can only be five at any given time. Being one meant you were part of a council of five that commanded the entirety of the Protectorate, its resources, and its manpower. To say that the five in the council at the moment had a lot of power was putting it lightly.

Moving on, I passed through the crowd of twenty as I tried to make my way to the front of the group. Picking up on various conversations as I did.

"Nervous. Do my bolts look big in this?" One glitch asked a human.

"I came here early to make sure I didn't miss the ceremony." Mentioned one Hylotl, before continuing. "I've been waiting here for hours."

"Not many Florans become Protectorssss, Floran is proud to be chosen." One Floran proclaimed, slipping into her accent as she did. "Floran regretss drinking five Oculemonadess for breakfast… Floran hopess there will be time for a bathroom break."

After making my way to the front, I was confronted by the sight of Johnny standing next to some stairs. His face carrying a _very_ punchable grin. He was also in his uniform and had managed to erase any indicator that he had wasted time in the lobby.

Sighing, I didn't question how he managed to get here before me. He has a strange habit of just appearing wherever he's needed at the last minute. Didn't stop me from being annoyed.

"Ay, John! Where you been? We've all been waiting for you." He called out, as if he wasn't just as close to late as I was.

"Taking in the sights one last time, you?" I responded, letting some of my annoyance slip into my voice.

"Took a shortcut here." He said, his grin only growing wider before he continued. "Just in time too, ceremony about to start."

Confirming his words was the bell that sounded from the building's intercom, alerting everyone that it was finally time for the ceremony. I gave Johnny a glare which he only chuckled at as we and our fellow graduates ascended the stairs towards the auditorium.

When we all reached the room where the ceremony was held, we all lined up just behind the doorway, with me at the front and Johnny behind me. While normally he would be at the front as valedictorian, my size required a specially proportioned matter manipulator, so I would go first to prevent something getting mixed up and getting one that was too big to use.

From my position at the front, I could see into the massive auditorium. In the front near the stage were the friends and family of my fellow graduates, while in the back were all the other protectors in the galaxy, this special day having brought them all here. Hanging on the walls were the flags of all the races in the galaxy, with banners carrying the symbol of the Terran Protectorate tieing them all together.

Suddenly, the lights in the room dimmed, as a middle aged human women walked up to a podium on stage and a spotlight shined on her. We knew her as grand protector Leda Portia. Clearing her throat and checking her mic, she determined that she was ready.

"My fellow protectors." She began. "Today we come together to watch the protectorate grow."

This was it.

"For over five hundred years we have stood proud here on Earth, drawing together races of all kinds in the name of peace."

This is what I have been working towards.

"Our task: To protect our fellow beings: to support, house, and educate those that seek out aid, and to foster accord between those that aspire to it."

I wish mom was here to see it.

"Today, in the name of peace, we welcome our newest compatriots, and present them each with our greatest tool…" She said, raising her hand.

"The Matter Manipulator."

The same moment she said that, the building shook. Confusing me and everyone else. This building was built to last, even a little shaking was cause for concern. I even heard metal fatigue in the roof above me.

Apparently Leda was also very confused.

"What was that?" She asked.

As sudden as the shaking had been, two massive forms burst out of the audience in the back. Throwing most of the protectors around the room. Before anyone could even react, more forms burst out of the ceiling, smashing their way through the reinforced metal like it was paper.

Before I could even react, I felt a pair of hands push me from behind. Sending me forward and onto the floor, just as I heard a crash from where I just was. Looking back, I saw the ceiling had collapsed, and debris blocked the doorway. Had someone not pushed me, I would have been crushed!

"You! Graduate!"

I no time to think about my near death as I turned towards Leda, who was gripped by a massive one that had appeared from under the podium.

"Take the manipulator and run! Get to safety!"

She then threw the matter manipulator to me, catching it as she was pulled into the floor.

As the civilians in the audience tried frantically to push each other out the exits. I just stood there. Stunned by the suddenness of everything.

"RUN! Try to get to the landing pads!" Avian called out, her voice echoing through the room.

Her voice breaking me out of my stupor, I put the manipulator in my vest holster, and ran towards the other stage exit. Leaving the screams of civilians behind. Making my way through the hall, it has the same decorations as the one I took to get in, but everything was torn and damaged like a hurricane had passed through.

I continued till I reached cave in, the metal of the ceiling having faltered under the assault and allowed soil and grass from the roof to block my way.

Avian spoke up again. "Dang, ceiling broke, good thing you have the manipulator now!"

I had to agree as I pulled out the device and pointed it towards the pile of dirt and pulled the trigger. A beam shot out as the matter visually warped under the device's effects until it shot out into the manipulator in a stream of dirt and grass,

After a minute of use, the path was clear. Putting the manipulator in my vest pocket once more, I continued on towards the landing pads.

Eventually I came to an closed blast door. Running up, I started inputting an emergency code into a nearby keypad to open it.

"Stop! The room ahead is flooded, use the roof access." Avian called out, halting my attempt to open the door.

Moving towards the roof access, blocked by a simple slide door. I inputted the same code into the keypad to open it, allowing me access to a ladder out onto the roof.

After a short climb, I stood up and looked around.

Then felt my jaw drop.

Massive forms that I finally identified as tentacles were wrapping themselves around the buildings. They had to be big enough to be buildings on their own!

"What is even going on?! Everything was peaceful just a few minutes ago!"

Exactly what I was thinking. How did things change so quickly?

Before I could move on, I noticed a body lying next to me, a human male with a protectorate uniform. Crouching down to check his pulse, I confirmed what I already knew. The deceased protector had a haunting face, his eyes and mouth wide open in a permanent scream from his final moments. Taking a moment, I closed the man's eyes and mouth to give him rest. While it was a sign of respect to do so, it was certainly not a sign of respect to loot his corpse.

I had no idea what to expect on my way to the hanger area, but I was not going without a weapon. After just under a minute of searching, I had found this guy was packing a standard issue pistol, and assault rifle with a grenade launcher attachment, along with enough ammo for both.

Stuffing everything I could into the various pockets of my vest, I soon found myself ready to take on most threats I could run into on my way to the hanger. Hopefully I can avoid it though, because these weapons were human sized, making them unwieldy for a fox like me to use. It was better than nothing though.

Now feeling ever so slightly safer, I continued on towards the hanger. As I did, the sound of a warzone started to spring up from the city as whatever armed forces that could be mobilized tried to fight those things.

I wasn't confident in their success, these things looked like something out of a horror movie.

After crawling through a vent, I got back inside the building, just behind the flooded room, and continued on.

I eventually came out onto another skybridge with only some light damage. However this was formerly a roofed one, which meant that a large pile of dirt and grass blocked me from crossing. Nothing my manipulator can't handle, but every second I spent digging my way to the landing pads was another second I could get killed by whatever those things were.

As I was digging, my ears picked up a siren sounding off all around the city. The siren for a standard invasion, but this was anything but standard. The siren added to the growing sounds of war in the city, and I even thought I heard the screams of fighter engines in the distance.

After I finished clearing the way, I moved forward into the next building. Here was where all the ships docked, so there was a lot of cargo laying around, all abandoned in the wake of this disaster. I felt a bit of relief at my arrival, if there was ever going to be a way off world, this was it.

I'm almost there.

Avian chimed in. "Good news! There is a deep scout ship docked up top. It's about to take off but they are willing to wait for us."

"Perfect, get yourself uploaded to the ship. I want to launch as soon I as get on board." I responded, giving a sigh of relief.

"Will do!"

Looking around the room, I saw that I was twenty floors below the room access. And since it probably is _not_ a good idea to use the elevator, I would have to use the stairs.

I grimaced as I looked at the stairwell that led to my salvation, each step almost half my height. Ensuring that this would feel more like climbing a mountain then running up a hill. I groaned as I began my climb up.

Where's a grappling hook when you need it?

Eventually, I reached the top. Pushing the door open, I stumbled out onto the roof, out of breath and nearly collapsing.

"Hold your fire! He's protectorate!"

I looked up and saw a group of thirty USH soldiers lowering their weapons. Their body armour currently set to urban camouflage, while their helmets remained unsealed, with only the glass visor attached to provide the Heads Up Display for their equipment and ammo.

One of the soldiers moved from his cover and walked up to me, his height advantage becoming quite apparent as he did. From my observation, I also noticed his rank insignia, which identified him as a Sergeant Major.

"You John?"

Looking up at the towering human, I nodded.

"Your AI told us to wait for you. So get your ass on board. We're leaving."

I sighed in relief. "Don't need to tell me twice."

The human called out to everyone else. "Alright everyone. Pack your shit."

I and the rest of the humans made our way to the ship, whose ramp was down for us. The ship itself was fairly small, allowing it to sit on top of the building instead of docking on the side. Painted on the ship's hull was the flag of the USH, red and white stripes interrupted in the top left by the earth, painted white to contrast nicely with the dark blue that surrounded it.

Before we could get on however, one of the many tentacles of this disaster decided to join the party. Its massive form bringing itself up and wrapping around the ship, the titanium hull groaning at the pressure the creature was putting it through.

Before we could even react, the suckers started spitting out its own creatures. All of which would not look out of place in someone's nightmare. Many of the things that spawned looked to be nothing but an eye with insect wings attached, flying much like an insect would. Another variant was hidden inside a clam shell with a small red slab of meat poking out the back, it was stuck hoping towards us on the ground. While the most impossible creature levitated in mid air, that one had an eye sticking out of a shell with some blue tentacles waving around below it.

While they were certainly horrifying, none of these creatures seemed threatening. That assumption was proven false when one of the levitators fired a red laser out of its eye, and hitting one of the soldiers. The beam melted straight through his armour, traveling across his torso as the man yelled out in surprise and pain, falling to the ground after it had ended.

Seeing the threat, the sergeant yelled for everyone to take cover as we all dove for something sturdy. I ended up behind some portable cover someone had placed, along with the medic of this group.

"Return fire!" The sergeant yelled from his own cover. Not that he needed to give the order, as the soldiers popped up from their cover to fire at the horrors.

I did the same as I got up from my crouched position behind the barrier and brought my rifle up to fire. The human sized weapon was unwieldy for a fox like me to use, but it would have to do as I brought the but of the gun to my shoulder. Taking aim at one of the crimes against nature, I pulled the trigger, letting loose a three round burst of fire as the weapon recoiled into my shoulder. The bullets hit their mark as the flyer was turned into a red mist, only a few pieces remaining to fall to the ground.

Suddenly, agonizing screams of pain managed to break through the sounds of battle, along with cries for help.

Looking to the source, I saw the same soldier who got hit by the laser was lying where he fell, squirming in place as the melted armour burned his skin. Turning to the medic, I patted his shoulder to get his attention. He looked over at me as I pointed to the wounded man.

"Cover me." I said to him.

He nodded in response, as he got from his position to fire at the creatures, while I sprinted across the roof towards the wounded man's position. When reached him, I grabbed the guy by the shoulders and began dragging him towards the medic's position. A few of the beasts got close, but the medic's fire managed to kill them before they could do any harm. As I got him safely behind cover, the medic stopped firing and started removing the soldier's armor to render first aid, while I took over the medic's job of firing on the horror movie rejects.

"Focus fire on the big one!" The sergeant suddenly yelled, his voice just barely managing to be heard over the firefight.

With those new orders, some of the soldiers began firing on the said big one holding our ride out of here. The bullets tearing through flesh and muscle while missed shots impacted the ship's armour plating. One soldier even pulled a grenade launcher from its spot on his back, taking aim and firing a salvo with mechanical puffs.

The grenades impacted the creature with explosions as the orange flames spread out from their epicenters. After the flame and smoke cleared, chunks of missing flesh and hundreds of bullet holes allowed dark red blood to gush from within. Despite all of this, the tentacle hadn't even flinched from our assault, and gave no indication that it would let go.

As if to spite our attempts to bring it down, far more horrors began pouring from its remaining suckers, forcing us to put more focus on bringing them down instead of the one that spawned them.

As the firefight went on, I saw the other creatures prove their lethality. The flyers would ram into the soldiers, then pull away with a small chunk of their armour attached to them. While the hoppers would use their momentum to smash into the limbs of the men, biting down and tearing off limbs in the process.

The medic next to me would be forced to move from our spot to each soldier, trying in vain to save their lives as they cried in pain. All while we failed to kill the tentacle holding our only way out of here.

I was still behind the cover, ejecting a empty magazine and slamming a new one in when I heard a new siren take over the other one. This one having a far darker meaning.

"The city's Dark Energy Reactor is going critical!" Avian confirmed, sounding panicked over the roof's speaker system. "It's a wildcat destabilization! We have about five minutes until it blows!" She continued, managing to be heard over the firefight.

I frowned at the news. Dark Energy Reactors are not meant to ever be shut down, but when the black holes that power them evaporate, they explode with about three times the force of a tactical nuke. However, some kinds of destabilization can greatly increase the destructive yield, reaching the power of some smaller strategic nukes. This city was going to be a crater soon, and I had a pretty good idea of what caused it.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I pulled the lever back. My rifle pulled a round from the fresh magazine into the chamber, now ready to fire. Before I could pop out of cover and unleash said rounds upon the horrors, Avian had an update.

"There's a Transport VTOL on a crash course with the roof, stay clear of the highlighted area!" She called out, as a hologram appeared on the roof, detailing the ship's landing site. It also looked like it was going to be sliding, as the danger zone extended all the way to the end of the roof.

Looking back at the remaining soldiers that were up here with me, I saw the sergeant duck into cover, his finger pressed up against the side of his helmet. Getting some orders from the helmet comms that came standard issue in the military.

"Alright everyone!" He called out, getting everyone to keep an ear open while we fought. "Evac order April has been issued, so we need to get the hell out of here."

"John." He called out, pointing to me as he did. "When that VTOL crashes, I want you to search it for any ordinance. Everyone one else, I want you giving him covering fire!" He ordered.

While he had no authority over me, I gave a 'roger that' to signal my agreement with his plan.. The other soldiers gave their own 'yessir's and 'affirmative's as I kept myself in cover, waiting for the moment to sprint away.

Not a moment later, the VTOL Avian warned about crashed into the roof, crushing any creatures in the way and sliding towards the edge. One of its engines was on fire while the other tried desperately to keep it airborne. Said engine failed as it shut down and settled right at the edge of the roof, the fire continuing unabated.

"Here's our chance!" The sergeant yelled. "Go go go!"

Needing no order, I jumped out of cover as I ran towards the downed ship, while the soldiers kept any creatures from even getting close. Reaching the VTOL, I opened the side door to find a welcome sight in front of me.

Christmas has come early, and it gave me a minigun!

An old twenty-first century weapon, but still faithful to this day.

Getting behind the multi barreled powerhouse of a weapon, I stood in the seat for the operator. Both having been designed for human use, I was far too small to sit down and still reach the weapon with my paws.

Grabbing the handle, I tested the weapon by pressing the button to spin it up. The gun quickly spun up but did not fire, confirming that ship still had power.

Under normal circumstance that would be a bad thing, cause the ship was still on fire, but I needed this weapon. Pointing it towards my target, I made sure no one was in the kill zone before I pushed down on the main trigger.

Immediately, fire spit out of the rapid fire cannon, hitting the beast with over a hundred rounds per second. The tentacle reacted, finally giving up its grip of the ship, pointing its remaining suckers at me and the soldiers in an attempt to overrun us. The minigun quickly thwarted that plan as the hundreds of bullets tore through the suckers like a knife through butter.

The tentacle then did something completely different. It raised itself high above us all then smashed down onto the soldiers, crushing most of those who remained. It then swept itself across the roof, sending the few survivors flying down to earth. It then snaked its way to me, while I continued to pour fire into the damn thing.

Luckily, it couldn't reach me for whatever reason, and was forced to pull back. Deciding instead to just wave around, trying its hardest to avoid my bullets. It was surprisingly hard to hit for some tentacle monstrosity, as many of my rounds found themselves missing their intended target.

Eventually though, I managed to kill it, or at least damage it enough for it to retreat. As the tentacle suddenly retreated from the roof, moving away and ensuring the ship was safe. Taking my paws off the minigun's handle as the weapon fell silent, I took a breather as I waited for my ears to stop ringing.

" **John!"**

Avian's amplified voice echoing through the intercom startled me as I jumped in place from the sudden noise.

"Get on the ship! We need to go **NOW!"** She screamed, spurring me to action.

Moving from my position in the VTOL, I ran towards the ship, needing to get offworld before the reactor blew the city away. Already, I could see the thrusters on the ship warmed up, the black metal having turned red from the intense heat. No one was alive to follow me as I sprinted up the ramp and into the airlock. Said ramp retracting behind me and airlock door putting a wall of solid metal between me and the outside world.

"I already bypassed the pre flight check, we can go as soon as you get seated." Said Avian, her voice echoing through the ship's announcement system.

When the door in front of me opened, I sprinted towards the control room, disregarding anything else on the ship. Upon reaching said room, I dropped the assault rifle I had been carrying as I pulled myself up into the human sized chair. Strapping myself in, I sat in silence as I felt the ship pulling away from the building.

Soon the g-forces transferred to my back as the ship turned up to burn its thrusters out of the atmosphere. I could see from the corners of my view screen other ships doing the same thing, unlike me however, they got shot down by some unseen enemy, exploding in orange fireballs and falling back to the surface.

Fire flew off of the hull as the ship tore through the atmosphere and escape the planet's gravity. The big blue sky giving way to the black void of space, dotted with white stars. I felt the g-forces lessen as the ship pulled further and further away from Earth.

" _Fuel reserves depleted."_ Went a automated system as the thrusters shut down.

"We still have to drift further out before it's safe to jump out of here." Avian alerted.

I could only nod, physically exhausted by what had happened. And unwilling to do anything more then watch what happened around me.

And I got quite a view, to my right, I could see a whole fleet of the US navy through the window. Leading the group were the large battleships and cruisers, flanking them were smaller ships like destroyers and frigates. While in the back of the group were carrier ships, disgorging squadrons of fighters and bombers.

Presumably, the fleet was charging towards whatever space worthy craft was capable of transporting the creatures on the surface, as I saw the cruisers fire their main gun at an unseen enemy.

I couldn't be sure though, as my ship was drifting somewhere else. And in my exhaustion, I couldn't really care right now. As my eyes grew heavy, I heard the FTL Drive spinning up in the back, indicating that I didn't have to worry.

As the drives reached full power and the ship prepared to jump, a single thought crossed my mind.

I guess Johnny was right last night.

Graduation day _was_ a complete clusterfuck.

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 **Be sure to review! I love hearing what you guys have to say about my writing.**


	2. Chapter 1: 'Happy' Coincidence

**This took too long to make.**

 **I wanted to have this out before Thanksgiving, but a dental surgery and my family celebrating it early made that impossible.**

 **Sorry about that.**

 **Anyway, you may be wondering why this chapter is over 8000 words when the last one barley made 4000, that is because I don't end chapters based on length, I only end them when I feel they have a good point to stop.**

 **So making this chapter and then editing it took way longer then last chapter, hopefully, the next chapter does not take as long.**

 **Enjoy.**

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I awoke to a faint beeping in the distance. I almost couldn't hear it. Despite that, the noise managed to hit just the right note to annoy me, and prevent me from falling back asleep.

I raised my paws up to my face, but was shocked by a sudden throbbing. Letting my arms fall back to my sides, I waited for the pain to subside.

Once it did, I tried again to raise my arms, and the throbbing returned, weaker this time. Trying to power through it, I ran my paws all over my tired face, trying to get the sleepiness out of me. Finishing this, I opened my eyes to the room before me.

Said room was almost pitch black, with a little bit of light coming in through the window. In front of me was the control panel of a ship, which looked like they had suffered damage. I had only a moment's confusion before I remembered.

Right, yesterday happened.

Earth came under attack, graduation day was ruined, I ran up a bunch of stairs, almost got eaten by some freaks of nature, and used a minigun to free this ship from one of them.

And I also used human sized weapons the whole time.

Yeah, any fox would feel like shit after that.

With the throbbing now gone,, I began unbuckling myself from the oversized chair I was in. Eventually dropping down onto the floor, and nearly collapsing under my own weight.

Damn, I haven't felt this bad since the seventh year of training.

Holding onto the chair for support, I tried walking around it and looked towards the open door behind it. A fox could see better in the dark than most, but even I couldn't see anything in the blackness that laid behind the door.

But the beeping was coming from there, and it meant that backup power was on. I need to go and restart the ship's system before I can do anything else. As I started walking towards it, I tripped over the rifle on the floor, causing me to land face first on the floor

When did life decide to shit on me?

Continuing on, I kept a paw to the wall as I shuffled my way towards the ship's main computer. Hoping not to trip on anything else on the way.

The beeping got louder as I went on, doing nothing for my current mood.

If I ever meet the guy who made computers this way, I'm going to punch him.

Eventually, I got to the room housing the terminal, with enough light coming out of the computer's screen for me to leave the wall I'd clung to.

Coming up to it, I read the text displayed on the screen.

' **FATAL ERROR: System unstable. Reboot necessary.'**

While I had no idea about coding, I did memorize how to do basic fixes as part of my training. Pulling the keyboard out from the terminal, I started typing.

' _cmd/ run '_

' **WARNING: System has taken damage, full restart may lose or corrupt data. Are you sure you want to restart? y/n'**

Let's hope it's not too damaged.

' _Y'_

Immediately, the beeping stopped and a massive wall of text started scrolling by, too fast to even read. And far too complex to understand. After all, there was an AI being rebooted here.

I heard the reactor start up in the background, and the lights on the ship turn on as power returned to the ship.

The welcome jingle returned my attention to the terminal, which finished its restart and still had a command prompt over the operating system's welcome screen.

' **System restart successful, no corrupt data found.'**

That either meant that the system was not as damaged as it thought it was, or so much was lost it couldn't tell.

Hoping it's the former, a broken computer system is damning to any ship.

The command prompt disappeared and the whole screen went black.

A blue light appeared and grew as the computer announced it was restarting, ending that statement with a beep.

The soon faded and the digital avatar of Avian stood within the screen. What was immediately apparent was the swirls in place of her eyes and swaying motion, as if she was on a old cartoon show.

"I am AVIAN, your Artificial Visual Intelligence Assistance Network. I maintain your ship." She said, as if she had been activated for the first time.

I raised an eyebrow. Is this her idea of a joke?

The swirls in her eyes disappeared and straightened her posture, giving me a malicious smile as she did.

"I'm also here to make snarky remarks and funny comments. And maybe help you a little."

There it is.

"Now's not the time, Avian." I said, unamused at her attempt.. "Run a diagnostic on the ship, not sure what's damaged."

Avian looked disappointed at my response before she nodded and disappeared from the screen, while I took in the now fully lit room.

Whole thing was a mess, a few damaged lights giving off sparks, some metal plates looking like they bent under the weight of the ship, and the blast door leading into the engine room was stuck half closed.

Whole ship was probably just as bad.

My inspection was interrupted by the return of Avian to the terminal screen, her face looking grim.

"Something tells me I'm not going to like this."

"No, 'fraid not." She started.

"Almost everything is broken, FTL core is damaged, thrusters are down, comm system is broken, long range scanners are gone, short range just barely work, and almost every workstation the ship has is damaged beyond repair."

That…

"There's more too." She continued, interrupting my thoughts.

"The teleporter works, but with the damaged scanners, it's risky. Life support functions just enough to give you and only you air, and the auto surgeon is damaged."

"Mother of god." I said, voice going soft.

How the hell can everything be so broken? The ship never got into combat.

While I did shoot at the thing holding it with a minigun, any missed shots couldn't have damaged everything this so badly.

Sighing, I looked at Avian. She usually isn't this clinical, the situation must be getting to her.

Or maybe the damage to the system is.

Probably both.

"Distress beacon?" I asked, hoping to figure out my options.

"Part of the comm system, so it's broken too."

"Then where are we?"

"In orbit above an unknown world, I can detect the presence of a digital age internet on the surface, so it's home to a primitive race."

Damn, primitives always make things difficult, especially more advanced ones.

If I had any hope of getting this ship in good enough order to fly back to charted space, I would need to mine resources from the planet. But primitives ensured that some veins of resources would already be mined by them, making it harder to find what I needed.

But I had to do something.

Can't just wait here and starve to death.

"Can you connect to their internet?" I asked suddenly.

Avian seemed confused by the question.

"...Yeah, I get about a kilobyte a second, why?"

Good enough.

"Start downloading what you can about them, I'm going to see what we have in storage." I said, walking away towards the storage room.

Realization dawned on Avian's face as she got what I was thinking. A smirk then formed as she opened her digital beak.

"I don't think you can just put on a suit and not get noticed!" She yelled to my retreating form.

I let out a chuckle as I passed through the door.

Arriving at the storage room, I walked straight towards the lockers, ignoring the damaged workstations scattered around.

Opening up the closest one, I cringed.

MRE's.

I hope I never have to eat these.

Moving on, I opened up another one and started digging around its contents.

Mostly just standard maintenance tools. Not much interesting. Besides a flashlight, which might be useful later.

Putting the small item in my pocket, I was about to close the locker again before something in the back caught my eye. Reaching as far in as I could, having to get inside the locker to do so, I managed to get the item out of a pile of other junk.

It was a portable sensor plugin.

These can connect to any computer system on a planet to extend the sensor range the ship it's paired to.

Glad I noticed this, really good find.

Putting the plugin into my vest, I continued on.

Time passed as I searched through all the lockers. While many of them contained junk, I did find some things. Like a locker full of weapons, enough materials to make a mini-base, and ten thousand pixels.

The weapons would be a god send if they weren't human sized, making them hard to use for fox like me. And with all the enhancements the Protectorate gave me during training, I don't think I'll have to shoot my out of a city full of primitives.

Since this is a deep scout ship for the USH if I remember correctly, the materials here make sense. Being able to build a small underground base for recon would be helpful. With a small fleet of drones, it's easy to build. Even easier with the Matter Manipulator.

Ten thousand pixels _would_ be an amazing find, but I am about to go on a planet that probably doesn't use pixels as a currency. Add to that a broken pixel printer, and all those pixels are completely useless.

Would have made escaping from this planet so much easier.

With all the wiring, computer parts, and titanium that was included for the mini-base, I have almost everything I need to build a distress beacon, only some essential ores that I will need from the surface.

Getting the ores will be tricky, as the moment I get seen by the native's, I will have to flee the whole planet. And since Digital Age primitives tend to be mining or already have mined everything of worth on the surface, I will need to get those ores from the native's themselves.

Given that, my main problem is going to be setting myself up at the start. Finding a place to build my little hideout and find a computer to plug the portable sensor into. Once I can get back in contact with Avian, tele back to the ship and grab what I need to build the base, things will go a lot smoother.

Once I build the distress beacon, it will be a waiting game until someone comes for me.

After that, it's a short repair job away from being able to get back to human space, and figure out what the Protectorate is doing next regarding the… Thing that attacked Earth.

That was the main problem though.

Even if _everything_ goes just right for me to escape this planet, it would still take a month to do everything and build the distress beacon. And given how much shit has gone wrong, I shouldn't expect it to change anytime soon.

I sighed, trying to push the thoughts away as I moved on to the other areas of the ship. Looking for anything else that might be useful before I land on the planet.

After an half an hour of searching, I finally returned to Avian, having found nothing else useful in the whole ship.

Said AI was still on the monitor, with a thousand yard stare and a dropped jaw.

"Avian? You okay?" I asked, worried that her system crashed.

Avian lost the stare and looked straight at me.

"This planet? It's your homeworld."

I blinked.

I let out a 'what' without even realising it.

"Exactly as I said, this planet is your homeworld."

My annoyance drowned out my confusion.

"Avian, now's not the time for jo-"

" **YOU THINK I'M JOKING NOW JOHN?! THAT I DID NOT RECHECK THE DATA AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL I RAN OUT OF ALTERNATIVES?"** She screamed, forcing me to cover my ears as the ship shook from words.

" **DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW UNLIKELY THIS IS? THAT A BADLY DAMAGED SHIP FLEEING A BATTLE WOULD NOT ONLY END UP IN ORBIT OF A PLANET, BUT IT WOULD DO SO IN UNCHARTED SPACE, AND THE PLANET WOULD BE HOME TO PRIMITIVES THAT** _ **JUST HAPPEN**_ **TO BE THE SAME RACE AS YOU?** " She continued, the shaking intensifying as she got further into her rant, forcing me to close my eyes as my head felt like it would explode. Were it not for my enhancements, my ears would already be bleeding.

" **NOT ONLY THAT!"** She said, stopping to push a bunch of photos on screen. Some were pictures of various foxes I've never seen before, while many others were of races I could not even identify as they passed so quickly.

" **BUT THEY ALSO-"**

"Avian! Calm down!" I yelled, hoping to stop the rant before it shook what's left of the ship apart.

She immediately stopped. Digital beak closing as the ship fell into silence.

I sighed in relief before turning to her.

"Avian... " I started, very concerned over what had just happened. "...I've never seen you get angry over something like this, what's wrong?"

She sighed, looking at me with the saddest expression I've ever seen her give.

"Foxes…" She started, hesitating for just a moment. "...And all other carnivores of this planet are second class citizens."

I blinked

Bringing the photos she had briefly shown during her rant, Avian grouped them together. Foxes and a collection of others hovering over one hand, and another collection hovering over another.

All the photos had one thing in common, they were photos of Earth animals if they were two legged… And sapient, as Avian is implying.

"To herbivores…" She said, raising one hand. "...Carnivores are scum."

I blinked again, not entirely sure how to take all this.

"And to keep carnivores in check…" She continued, now looking disgusted to even be saying this. "...Carnivores have to wear…" She hesitated once again.

"You still have that collar from your mother?" She asked, snapping me out of my trance.

I digged through my vest and pockets, looking for the one item that I never went anywhere without. Pulling the shock collar out, I looked it over, undamaged from yesterday. It's little box not even having a dent in it, along with the key looking factory mint.

"Uuh, yeah?" I replied, confused by the question.

"Those…" She started, looking reluctant to even finish. "...Those are called 'Tame Collars.' Carnivores have to wear them."

Silence filled the room, interrupted only by the ship's reactor in the background.

"Uh, John?" Asked Avian, a little concerned over my response.

"Can you give me a moment, Avian?" I growled out.

Avian, spooked by the anger dripping from my voice, disappeared from the monitor entirely.

I sighed.

I didn't mean to be that harsh.

Not even angry at her.

I walked up to the wall opposite of the terminal, slamming my back against it and sliding down to the ground.

I let out another sigh, thinking back to my childhood.

I was born while my mother was in captivity, having been abducted along with a bunch of other foxes. When the Protectorate found out about the place and raided it, the criminals deleted all data regarding planet locations, ensuring all the abducted people from various primitive races were stranded.

I had always wondered why mom and the other foxes had not immediately tried to find the home world, like the other races had. My questions never answered by the grownups, I never stopped thinking about it, even after I became an apprentice at the Protectorate, a small part of me always wondered about what that world was like.

Now I had my answer. It was some sort of racist hellhole. Filled with sapient, two legged versions of every animal on Earth. Like some movie director decided that there was just not enough darkness in kids movies.

I looked down at the collar in my paws, feeling like a fool for thinking what I had about it.

I had always thought it was some sort of shock collar for a pet, but instead of a dog wearing it, my mother wore it. And instead of some feral beast being shocked for bad behavior, a sapient being was zapped for being born wrong.

And I had to go down into that world.

Me, some fresh out of training protector that has never actually faced the adversity I was trained to overcome.

I need a drink, no one should have to do this sober.

I don't know how long I spent moping against the wall, but I was interrupted by Avian once again appearing on the monitor.

"I know you wanted to be by yourself for now…" She tentatively stated, still shaken by my earlier outburst. "...But if you wanted to get started on getting back home, now would be a good time."

Home… That word felt so bittersweet now.

My home on earth is gone, and I don't have a home here.

First thing first though. "Sorry about earlier, Avian. Just… A lot on my mind."

Relief flashed on Avian's face for a moment before smirk took hold.

"Yeah, like I'm one to talk about being level headed. I'll start the teleporter for you." She said as her avatar disappeared from the screen.

I shook my head, she's never been one to let things keep her down.

AI's have never really been good with low probability things coming true. The sheer coincidence of not only a planet being populated with two legged versions of Earth's animal kingdom, but also us stumbling upon it like this must of threw her for a loop.

Getting up from my position, I made my way to the teleporter bay.

Time to visit a living tribute to the twentieth century.

Walking into the room, I immediately took notice of the four teleporters sticking out of the wall. Aside from the teleporters, the room was almost empty, only a few crates laying around.

Putting the state of the room aside, I called out to Avian. "So what am I looking at on the surface?"

Avian flipped a switch in my implant, giving me a tiny shock at the base of my skull.

' _Because of the damage to the ship, I can only send you to wherever is directly below us..'_ Avian started, sending shiver down my spine

It's still so weird to hear someone else inside my head.. Avian had used the speaker system of the buildings to communicate back on Earth.

Just another thing I will have to get used to.

' _Right now, that happens to be the outskirts of a city. With all the damage, I can't send you on the ground to avoid sending you inside the earth.'_ She continued.

' _I know foxes like digging, but I don't think you like it that much.'_

I could almost hear her grin.

Suppressing a chuckle, I replied: "Up yours."

' _I would if I had one, guess we'll have to use yours.'_ She fired back.

I let out 'pfft' before getting us back on topic.

' _The area is in the middle of a thunderstorm though, and I don't think it will let up anytime soon.'_

That could be a problem, there weren't any enhancements that protected against electricity, let alone the high voltage doses found in weather.

"As long as you don't spawn me too high up I should be fine."

' _No promises.'_ She said, failing to disguise her worry as a joke.

"Hey Avian…" I called out as I sat on one of the crates. "...I'll be fine, even with a damaged ship, I'm sure you'll get me on the surface safe and sound." I continued, untieing the shoes I was wearing.

' _Just be careful okay? I don't want to be stuck here forever.'_ Avian responded.

"Okay Avian…" I paused, trying to pull the last shoe off. "...I… WILL!" I exclaimed, as I finally got the stubborn thing off

If Avian was not satisfied with my answer, she didn't say, as I continued to prepare myself for everything down below.

Pulling the socks off my feet, I flexed them out in the open air. Like most other foxes, I didn't really like wearing anything on them, the pads being more than capable of carrying me from place to place without injury. But formal events like graduation demanded I wear something, so I had to wear it.

I then moved on to the protectorate vest and pants, which themselves came off easy. What was less easy to part with, was the weapons and ammo I had stored in it.

As much as I wanted to take the rifle and pistol, those were far too big and would stick out like a sore thumb from under my clothes. So I was stuck with only the matter manipulator and my own claws for now.

As I finished getting ready for the planet, Avian gave a suggestion. "You should leave the Manipulator here too."

I let out an 'okay' before doing a double take.

"Wait, What?!"

"You should leave the Matter Manipulator here."

"Why would I do that?!"

"Because if anyone finds that on you, you'll lose your cover and we'll both be screwed."

I was about to argue more but stopped as I pondered it more.

She is right about one thing, if anyone finds me with the Manipulator, I will have a lot of questions I can't answer. While the device itself is not large enough to be seen from under my shirt, a simple pat down would reveal it easily. And with foxes being a persecuted class on the surface, I imagine I will be subject to those a lot.

Not to mention all the other possible situations where it could be revealed. Unlikely as any of them are, it's still possible, and with no second chances, I could not afford big risks.

I let out a sigh as I realized Avian was right.

Again.

"I hate it when your right Avian." I said as I pulled the Manipulator out and placed it with everything else I was leaving behind.

"It's in my nature to be right!" She responded with glee.

Feeling naked without my weapons, I pulled the finishing touch from my pocket.

Time to stop putting this off.

Bringing the collar up to my neck, I positioned its box to located on my right, trying to make it obvious that it was on me. Without much ceremony, I brought the ends of the collar together at my front, locking together with a click.

The feeling of nakedness subsided and was replaced with a new feeling.

I felt like I was someone's pet.

Adding to the feeling was all the ways the collar made my body felt. The weight of it on my neck, the way it rubbed the fur and skin underneath, and box that could be felt against the base of my skull.

Cringing at the feeling, I sighed in resignation.

I was going to have to get used to this.

Despite knowing that I have the key in my back pocket, the feeling of wrongness that this collar gave me refused to subside.

Attempting to push it all out of mind, I focused on my main objective: Getting back to the Protectorate.

Walking towards the teleporter, I saw that it was fully charged and ready to go. Small bits of blue light popping into existence and being pulled to the top and bottom of the device. Despite being vital to the modern world, most people could not even begin to tell you how it works.

And those who do are the most boring people in the galaxy.

I stepped inside the teleporter, not bothering to set coordinates on the keypad as I did.

Avian took care of that. _'Coordinates as close as I can get them, ready to beam you down.'_

Hearing the nervousness in her voice, I tried to reassure her. "As I already said Avian, don't worry, everything will be fine."

' _Easy for you to say, if I beam you into the ground, your regret will last for a second at most, while mine will last for eternity.'_ She responded, not even trying to hide behind her usual sarcasm now.

"And that's a risk we have to take, I don't like it anymore then you do Avian." I said, trying to play devil's advocate to her fears.

She gave a heavy sigh. _'Try not to die, please?'_

"I'm built to handle this, I'll be back before you know it."

A lie, the weight of the collar reminding me that no one is built for what I'm about to go into.

Pushing my own fears aside, I said one final thing to Avian.

"I expect you to have a lot more snark when I get back!"

This seemed to cheer her up. _'Yes sir, Protector!'_

The now orange light of the teleporter blinded me as I closed my eyes.

The light faded immediately after, while I felt myself plunge from where I had just been. As it happened, I felt thousands of stings all around my body as if I was walking through a hail storm.

My heart rate spiked as I flailed around a bit before I realized where I was.

Calming down, I opened my eyes ever so slightly to avoid getting hit as I looked around. After some searching, I found the ground, and my landing site.

It was going to be on a paved road.

Shit, this is gonna hurt.

Reorienting myself to hit the ground feet first, I bent my knees ever so slightly and brought my paws in front of me. Turning them pads down, I kept my eyes open to judge my landing time.

Seeing the ground rushing up to meet me, my heart rate spiked even higher.

Shit shit shit shit FUCK!

I slammed into the ground, limbs bending from the force but refusing to break. A shock wave moving out from my impact, cracking the pavement and sounding like a bomb hitting its target. I grimaced from the feeling of a dozen pricks in my paws, the feeling was lessened from the sudden absence of hail, replaced only by the calming feeling of rain splashing against my body.

I let go of my breath, not even aware I was holding it.

I stood up from my kneeling position on the pavement and looked at the damage my landing had caused. Most of the road had broken up, I even left a small crater.

"Couldn't ya have put me over some grass, Avian?" I asked, knowing she couldn't hear me as I brushed all the bits of pavement stuck in my paws.

Finishing that up, I looked around and saw the city in the distance.

Pretty far into the distance.

"And maybe get me closer to the city?"

I saw a flash of lightning in the clouds above, accompanied by distant roars of thunder.

I gave a chuckle. "Guess not."

With nothing else to do, I started making my way to the city, hoping to get there before the day was over. Alone with nothing but my thoughts and soaked clothes.

Heh, good thing I'm enhanced against disease, might've caught a cold otherwise.

And no one likes working with a cold.

It had taken a few hours to reach the city, the trek giving me more the enough time to take in the scenery.

All the plant life was remarkably similar to Earth, so much so that one could be forgiven for mistaking the planet as one of the terraformed inner colonies that the USH established.

A part of me wondered if the same precursors responsible for the Glitch were to blame for the similarity, but I left that line of thinking behind as I got closer to the city.

The city itself was nothing unique, while the architecture was impressive, it was nothing that had not already been done by pre-unification Earth. Let alone the feats some of the inner colonies had. Unless something is hidden on the inside of the city, I imagine this place won't feel much different from any Earth city.

I brought my paw up to scratch some fur under the collar, the damp material weighing heavy and chafing against the skin.

With some _notable_ exceptions.

My thoughts on the city changed when I got to the top of a nearby hill and saw something that made my blood boil.

"Why is there a fucking wall in the way?!"

Seriously, what the fuck.

A massive fuck off wall is there, and it's going to force me to walk all around the city looking for a damn entrance!

My tirade went on for a few minutes before I calmed down and took everything in.

I could see behind the wall from my position on the hill, and I saw the landscape inside was covered in snow. Alongside that, I could see the heavy rain freeze as it fell into the area.

So, an artificial climate then.

Don't see the reason why, but whatever.

Continuing down the road, it brought me around the wall, but I still could not enter the city. The path being blocked by various natural formations that the city could not be bothered to remove or build over. I even saw some small mountains that looked to only be a few miles from what I assumed to be the downtown area.

Continuing on my quest to actually get into the city, I came across a raised pathway, just high enough to get over the walls set up at the river it crossed. The walls made sense here though, as I could see the river flooding over on my side.

Coming up to the raised path, I took in the construction. It looked more built for a high speed train then any car, and was similar to high speed rails that humanity built.

Which suits me just fine.

My claws broke threw my fur as I brought them out of their hiding place. Taking a swing at the support beam in front of me, my claws cleanly pierced the structure. Anyone else would have broken theirs, but my claws were enhanced to be stronger than normal.

Taking my other paw, I jumped up and jabbed my claws in as high as I could. They too pierced the structure as I found myself hanging ever so slightly off the ground. Doing a similar motion with my feet and the claws they had, I slowly pulled myself up towards the rails above me.

The climb was slowed by the weight of my soaked clothes and fur, but I reached the top quickly enough, taking a moment to look both ways for a train before I pulled myself on the rails themselves. From there, it was just a quick walk over the flood wall and into the city.

With all of the buildings standing tall around me, I wanted to get off the rail quickly. Before someone saw the strange fox doing something that was probably illegal. Looking at the closest alley I could find, I jumped into it, aiming for the side of the building with claws extended.

I let out a grunt as I hit the wall, claws digging into the structure as they tried to handle my weight. After just a few seconds of movement, I had stopped, hanging just a few feet off the ground with my claws keeping me in the air. After a moment, I detached from the building, landing on my feet as my claws retracted back into my skin.

I made it into the city… Now it's time to get situated.

Looking out towards the street, I let out a sigh.

"Well, no time like the present." I muttered, trying to build some confidence to go out into a city that supposedly hated my kind.

Time to find out.

Walking out onto the sidewalk, I was immediately blasted by rain. The alley having provided cover from the bad weather while I built myself up for this.

No one was around at the moment besides a few cars driving on the road, with a thunderstorm raging above, that was hardly a surprise. I would just need to get to a more densely populated area of the city.

I guess downtown would be a good place.

It didn't take long to get where I was heading, with towering buildings overhead providing a good beacon for the city's center.

As I was walking, I met my first inhabitant.

It was an elephant, dressed in some grey sweatpants and a dark blue t-shirt. Carrying a bag of food that could be seen poking out at the top and a umbrella that kept him dry from the rain.

I knew that I would see things like this before I landed. All the pictures Avian showed me providing a pretty good argument against it being one of her jokes. But seeing such a creature in person was something else entirely. The familiarity of the elephants I knew on Earth combined with the utter strangeness of seeing one walk and talk like I do, it shocked me.

My shock must of been written all over my face, as the elephant looked down at me and said; "What are you looking at, pelt?"

It was then that I noticed just how massive he was compared to me, as I had to rush out of the way as he continued past me. His footsteps shaking the earth as he did.

I watched, shocked at his size, but also at what he said.

"Pelt?" I whispered.

I haven't heard that in a while.

I first heard it when browsing internet forums during my teenage years on Earth. One user had used it to refer to me and other foxes, and his disdain for our presence on Earth. I had never actually heard it spoken to me before, as no human had the balls to publicly display racism.

Now that I have, I certainly know I don't like it.

I wasn't some feral beast you skin for a coat, I was a god damn super fox with enhancements out the ass. He probably thought that he could just crush me with a step, but oooh no. He would find out just how wrong he was if that asshole tried.

I sighed in an attempt to calm down, and continued on.

It only got worse from there though, as the denser the sidewalk got, the more comments I got from the _friendliest_ people in the galaxy.

"Out of the way, pred." Said one

"What's a chomper doing out today?" Whispered another.

"Damn pelts getting cocky." Another muttered.

I tried my best to ignore it, I really did. But walking in the freezing rain, clothes damp, and no idea where to go, it was starting to get me depressed. Was there going to be no one I could trust in this city?

My spirits were eventually lifted when I spotted a wolf walking with a heavy jacket on, his white fur clashing horribly with his black jacket. I didn't say anything to him, wanting to merely see how he acted. I flicked my ears in his direction and tilted my head ever so slightly to hear what was said as best I could, even if some rain did land in my ears.

The wolf got similar comments as I did, and he seemed to shrug them off, as if he was used to the words being said. But when he spotted me, I saw his eyes widen from under the hood of his jacket, looking at me as if I was crazy.

With my wandering legs, I eventually passed him, going with the flow of the small crowd of animals that surrounded us. But he kept staring at me, even after I walked away I could still feel the eyes staring a hole in my back as I walked.

My wandering brought me to a crosswalk, where the green lights allowed traffic to pass through the mildly busy street. Pressing a button bolted to the to the beams holding said lights up, I waited to the crossing signal to allow me through.

As glad as I was for the city's similarity to Earth for that, my thoughts kept drifting back to the wolf.

Why did he look at me like that? What about me made me look so strange that he stared at me for that long? And why didn't the prey notice what he did?

I sighed, frustrated at the lack of answers to these questions.

Hopefully I find out soon, cause it's looking like other predators will be my only allies in this city, and I really can't afford being 'strange' in any way.

I wonder if there are pred gangs like there used to be bla- "OW!"

I turned around instantly to pick up my tail, the source of my pain as I heard a beep sound off from my collar.

"Aah!" I yelled, feeling the electric shock travel through my body.

My free paw rushed up to my collar, the shock leaving me dazed.

Unknown to me, the twin gerbils who ran over my tail gave each other a high five and sped off, their toy sized car working despite the heavy rain.

I didn't even care though.

...I got shocked.

Feeling an emptiness settle inside me, I found myself running. I didn't even know where, just trying to find a place to process what just happened.

Eventually, I found an alley and collapsed against the wall, wet and formerly bushy tail curling around me as I lost myself in my own thoughts.

Why does this world exist? _How_ can this world exist?

Being forced to put on a collar, being shocked for things you couldn't control… Being forced to wear a constant reminder of your second class status.

And then having to live in a world that sees nothing wrong with this.

And who knows how many other things trigger the shock, I've only been on this world for a few hours. Never tested this collar, who knows how many other things me and my kind are banned from feeling on this world.

Just hearing about the situation is one thing.

 _Feeling_ it is another thing altogether.

No wonder mom never told me about home.

I really don't want to know anymore.

And I have to live this nightmare until I can get a distress signal out.

God have mercy…

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. Getting up from my curled position on the ground, I saw three animals walking towards me.

One was what I first thought was a bunny, but realized was a hare from the larger size compared to other bunnies I had seen during my short time in the city. The hare was sporting a _very_ smug grin, making me dread whatever his intention may be.

I heard a beep with a yellow light appearing from the corner of my eye as my heart rate rose. I could tell that the light was coming from my collar.

So it _does_ trigger from high heart rate. As unsettling as that is, good to know.

Seeing my collar light up, the hare's grin only widened.

I frowned at the implication, this guy is bad news.

Following him on his right was a sheep who… why does he even carry the bat behind him if he can't conceal it? I can see it sticking out from behind.

The sheep was wearing some light jogging clothes under an unzipped jacket, and besides the bat he was carrying, he seemed unthreatening.

On his left, a rhino trailed him, beefed up with thick muscles that bulged from under the fur. He probably spent every hour at the gym. While he would be intimidating to any other fox, I was far from any fox. With my genetic enhancements, he was far less of a threat.

And far behind them, I saw a pickup truck sized for all these guys parked just outside the alley, with another sheep fiddling with a parking meter.

Making a quick check behind me, I saw that the other side of the alley was open to run away if I needed. Past the exit was a road then a wall twice my height, with a railing matching mine on top of it.

Turning back to the group, they closed the distance and stopped in front of me.

Never losing his grin, the hare spoke. "Looky here guys, a fox who forgot his place." He said, looking straight at me as he did.

"What's a pred like you doing in the Meadowlands?" He continued.

These certainly weren't cops, if their lack of uniforms were anything to go by. But I had no idea if there _was_ a law against predators being in this district. With that in mind, I figured honesty would be the least damning here.

"Oh, just wandering around, I'll be gone soon." I cautiously answered, hoping it would satisfy what looked to be a vigilante group.

Unfortunately not, as the hare never lost his grin, and the other two started chuckling.

"Hehe, yeah you'll be going back to Happytown." The sheep said as the hare walked up to me.

"In a body bag." The hare finished as he threw his fist into my gut.

I let the fist hit me, hoping the result would intimidate them into leaving me alone. The fist slammed into me, though I barely felt any pain. I was more moved by the momentum of the punch, forcing me to take a step back to keep my balance.

The hare's grin faded, and grew confused as he noticed my total lack of response to what he assumed was a strong hit

I'm sure it was for him, but might as well be a toddler's punch to me.

The hare stepped back as the sheep drew his bat and moved towards me, ready to beat my ass for daring to defy them. While I got into a standard fighting stance as I took the coming fight more seriously.

Fists raised and knees bent, I was ready to wipe the floor with these guys, even with this damn collar on. The rhino, seeing that this was no ordinary fox, got into his own stance as well.

The sheep swung the bat at me with a little yell, seeing the attack coming, I dodged the swing and grabbed the bat with my right paw. Pulling the bat towards me, the sheep was unwilling to let go and stumbled forward. Raising my free paw up, I brought it down on the sheep's, breaking it with a concussive crack. The sheep yelled in pain as I swung the bat against the side of his head, a solid hit sending him sprawling onto the ground.

Turning towards the rhino, I was suddenly grappled from behind by the hare, putting me into a Full Nelson. Giving the rhino more the enough time to throw a few punches to my gut.

Grunting in pain, I slammed my head against the hare's, forcing him to release me as he fell the ground, clutching his face. I sidestepped another punch by the rhino, and grabbed him by the wrist. Pulling him forward, the rhino only had a moment to be surprised by my strength before he fell over, allowing me to whack him soundly on the back of his head, sending him to dream land.

As I turned to check that the hare had not recovered, I was grabbed by the sheep, once again put into a Full Nelson.

"Get up! Get up! I got im!" He called out to his wounded allies.

With the wall of the alleyway directly in front of me, I jumped from my position, arms staying in the sheep's grasp.. Getting traction on the wall, I ran up as high as I could, dragging my arms with me and unbalancing the sheep. After a second of wall running, I flipped over and brought us both to the ground, the sheep losing his grip as we did.

I immediately got off the ground, crouching as I threw punch after punch into the sheep's face, each hit emitting another crack as I ruined his dating chances. After less than a minute of punching, I could tell the sheep was out cold, and would need need some bandages for his poor face.

Moving from my crouching position, I looked to all three of the animals. The hare was still rolling on the ground, moaning in pain as he clutched his own face. The sheep and the rhino were out cold, the sheep bleeding far more than the rhino.

I sighed in relief as the tension left my body. I had done that without even much effort, or triggering my collar.

Maybe my luck's beginning to turn.

My admiration of my own work was cut short when I heard the familiar sound of a gun firing, followed by the wind as a bullet passed by my head.

I immediately got into a crouch, trying to make myself as small and difficult a target as possible. As I did this, I turned to the source of the shot, and saw the final sheep had finished doing his thing with the parking meter and was running towards me with his gun out and aimed right at me. And he looked pissed.

I saw a flash from the gun and heard the shot along with another bullet passing by me. Faced with a angry animal with a gun, I did the only sensible thing.

I turned around and ran away.

I may be a genetically altered badass, but I'm not immortal.

It would've only taken a few seconds to get out of the alley and into the street, but as I ran, I did my best to zig zag on my path in an attempt to become harder to hit. Eventually, I did make it out, being pelted once again with rain. I disregarded the traffic I was running into and didn't stop, neither did my pursuer, judging from the gunshots that continued to sound off behind me. Said shots sending all the pedestrians on the block into a panic as they ran from the sounds.

Hearing the sound of an approaching car, I dived over hood of a car as it passed. For the second I was over, I saw the face of a elk, utterly terrified of crashing into me. The elk's fear was unjustified though, as I passed before his windshield could strike me. I landed from the dive on all fours, using my momentum to get upright and running.

Got it! That sheep can't even hit m- "Gah!"

I had to stop myself as a car flew by in front of me, nearly hitting the car as I stumbled to a stop from the fresh wound the bullet had given me.

"Ah!" I gasped, as the collar punished me for the injury.

Seeing no other cars coming, I continued my escape towards the wall while pedestrians scrambled away from my path.

As I ran, I rubbed the flesh wound. Son of a bitch managed to hit me.

I endeavoured to get away from the gun wielding sheep as I came up to the railed wall, an obstacle I was sure the sheep could not get over. Crouching, I prepared myself for the jump, risking moments of stillness for the sheep to take a shot at me. While all around me, there were screaming animals as they ran, hoping to avoid the bullets.

After a moment, I pounced. Like a feral trying to catch his prey.

Reaching the height I needed to clear the wall, the angle of the pounce had me move forward ever so slightly as I did. Just enough to make it past the rail.

"Ha!" I called out behind me. "Can't catch you fu-" My words died as my body exploded with pain. The feeling of three bullets entering me then exiting out the front of my body leaving me paralyzed from shock.

My pounce turned into a fall, my legs hitting the rail as I just barely fell over the wall. All I could do is hope to land somewhere soft.

After a moment of decent, I smashed into what felt like concrete. Instead of stopping, I instead sunk below what I landed on. My eyes widened as water rushed into my open muzzle and I flailed my arms around in a desperate attempt to swim. After a moment I surfaced, coughing as water I hadn't already swallowed leaked out.

I landed in a damn river! It wasn't a wall, it was a god damn guard rail!

My tirade was interrupted as I felt myself being dragged down the river.

Damn, that current's strong! Can't fight that, need to get out.

I looked around for any possible exit to the river, but all I saw were smooth walls keeping the water in. I did notice a massive tree trunk speeding towards me.

Oh fuck me!

The trunk smashed into me, the impact pushing me under the water again. I screamed in a vain attempt to keep the water from rushing in, the impact leaving me too dazed to realize the impossibility.

I resurfaced, this time puking up some of the swallowed water, giving me no time to breath.

Shit! This water tastes like shi- "AAH!"

Something had cut my leg, leaving a deep gash that immediately pooled blood. So much blood that some of the water was light red in my wake. The loss was even leaving me light headed, making it even harder to keep my head above the water line.

As I submerged, I could almost make something out in the distance. I couldn't tell exactly what it was, but in the hope it could get me out of the river, I vainly tried swimming towards it as I spun underwater, leaving me confused of which way was even which.

By the time I once again emerged, I only had time to notice that it was just another tree trunk, and I was speeding towards it. With no time to even throw up all the water, I slammed into it, hitting my head directly against its thick wooden frame.

Then my world went black.

I awoke with a start, throwing up river water from my position.

Forcing myself to get up on my knees, I supported myself with my paws as I threw up more and more water. After almost a minute of solid vomiting, I was finished, losing strength in my limbs and falling back to where I once was.

"I-I can't move…" I whispered, not even aware I had spoken it.

"So c-c-cold…" I stuttered, feeling frozen to the ground.

"Why,,, Why can't I feel my legs?..." I asked, forgetting the answer.

A part of me realized what was happening, but I didn't panic, I was too cold to panic.

"Get up John… Get up." I muttered, commanding my limbs to move, and get me out of here.

None of them obeyed.

"You're going to d-die John…" I continued my efforts, all in vain.

It was then I noticed something, from the corner of my squinting eyes I could make out two somethings making their way to me.

I can't survive them… Not in this state.

"I don't want to go out like this…" I whispered, not even caring who heard it.

The shapes got closer.

"Not like this…"

They were right on top of me.

"No…"

My world became blackness once again.

* * *

 **There is no respawning in this story, if John goes down, he's dead. And he wont be surviving this without some help. I'll leave you to guess who that will be.**

 **While some might be disappointed by the introduction of Zistopia (Zoodytopia? Zoodistopia? Whatever we're calling that AU these days) instead of being in our normal Zootopia universe, I feel it was for the best. A lot more opportunity for conflict and interesting things to happen this way.**

 **In any case, leave a review!**

 **Seriously, I want to know what you think of the story so far, and hear any criticisms you might have.**

 **See you all in the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome to Zootopia

**Merry Christmas everyone!**

 **I hope everyone is having a wonderful time off from whatever may occupy their time. I've been spending most of it with some family visiting from out of state. This is also part of the reason why this chapter is coming out on Christmas Eve, as I don't have much free time in-between doing things with said family. I was originally hoping to have this done before Christmas vacation even started, but some inspiration struck as I finished editing and needed to reedit most of the chapter.**

 **By the way, thanks for the reviews, I like reading feedback from you guys. Every chapter, I will take a moment to respond to a few here in the author's notes, so keep the reviews coming.**

 **Medchtsia: I actually am working on a rewrite to the Prologue, but I wanted to get this chapter out first. I will be posting the rewrite the same day as the next chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Thoughts scattered; memories of the past and predictions of the future turned into a whirlwind of ideas and experiences. Snapshots of my life playing like a movie. Eventually, thoughts secured themselves; hidden fears and unknowable possibilities coalesced into visions of ruin._

 _Massive creatures dominating buildings, bringing them down to signal the end of an era._

 _Soldiers lay in pools of their own blood, cut down before they had a chance to rise._

 _Survivors fleeing anywhere they could in a futile attempt to escape the end._

 _Entire planets writhing with the creatures, becoming so numerous they cover the earth's crust._

 _And there I was… Standing before the largest of them all as the last living thing in the universe. Its form writhing in excitement at the idea of completing its purpose. Its pulsating tentacles speeding down towards me as I did nothing to avoid my demise. The view of my doom becoming bigger and bigger as it sped towards me._

 _I commanded my body to move, but it refused, staying glued to the ground as I watched my end slam into me, killing me instantly._

My eyes shot open in fear, my muzzle opening to guzzle air before a sharp pain erupted from my neck.

With no air to let out a yell, I instead fell into a cough as the painful shock halted whatever panic my dream had given me. Collar having decided it was too much for me to handle. I stayed my paw from rubbing the damn thing as my whole body was too sore to move.

After the cough ended, I laid there, taking in as much air as I could for my starved lungs.

"Damn it." I muttered, cursing both the collar and my implant. Said implant being responsible for the dream.

Dreams like that are one of the side effects of the implant I had. Dreams turned into visions, visions of memories, desires, or on occasion; fears. They didn't even have to be fears that I regularly thought about, just some unknowns about a situation was all it took, and the brain took care of the rest.

And this will be a problem, because I had no possible way of quelling these fears until I confirmed that the 'end of the universe' was wrong. And I can't do that until I can get a distress beacon working, no small task while stuck on a primitive world, even if I am 'one of them.'

Speaking of, where am I?

Doing my best to keep still, I looked around the room I found myself in. I was in a bed, covered by enough blankets to suffocate a bear. Directly opposite of me was another bed, one that looked like it had been used recently. At the end of the room was a open closet sitting next to a closed door. At the feet of the beds were some nightstands, with mine holding… All my clothes.

Feeling around under the bed, I confirmed that I was indeed, naked.

I felt a bit of heat rush to my face as I hoped that my mystery saviour didn't see anything much. I could see why they did it though, going through a river had probably left my clothes too cold to wear, and all the bandages I felt around my left leg and chest couldn't have been applied with my clothes on.

Next to me there was another nightstand, this one carrying a tall glass of water, and a note. Bringing my sore paws over, I grabbed both of them and read what had been written.

 _Drink this and take the painkillers when you wake up, you had enough injuries to kill most mammals._

 _-Honey_

This person is right, were it not for my enhancements I definitely would have died. Even with this person's help and my enhancements… I almost did...

Pushing those thoughts away, I checked the nightstand and sure enough, there were a few painkillers waiting for me. Grabbing them, I threw them into my mouth and brought the glass to chug. As the water ran down my throat, I realized how thirsty I was, the water feeling divine as it carried the pills down.

After finishing the water, I put the glass back and once more laid down, just in time for a wave of fatigue to hit me as the painkillers worked their magic.

A part of me questioned the wisdom of putting so much trust in this 'Honey' person, but I ignored the thought. If this person wanted to hurt or kill me, they could have easily done so. I did take a deep breath through the nose though, trying to get a identity of my mystery saviour.

It smelled like another fox, a male. A primal part of me felt safer with that knowledge, that a fellow fox had taken me in for the moment, even though I knew nothing about this guy.

Despite it all, I can't bring myself to question the motives of this fox too much. I got the shit kicked out of me, so questions be damned, I'm going to enjoy this. I pulled the covers up a bit further and nuzzled into the pillow as the soreness began to fade.

In less than a minute, I was back asleep.

I awoke to the sound of thunder.

From outside, I could hear heavy rain pounding the walls of the building. Alongside it my ears picked up some glass withstanding the assault as well, drowned out by the rest of the storm.

Opening my eyes, I looked up to see a window with open shades that I had not noticed before. From inside I could see that the storm I walked through had only got worse, the window protecting me from a flood of rain splashing inside.

Just how long have I been out?

My thoughts were interrupted by a plop sounding off near the doorway. Looking over, I saw drips of water leaking through the ceiling, falling into a bucket someone had placed under it. It took a few seconds for another drop to fall, making another plop.

Long enough for the roof to start leaking apparently.

I returned my thoughts to myself as I took my situation in. Testing out all my limbs to see if I could walk myself out of the room. My chest was fine, feeling no pain from where the bullets tore through me. Only my injured leg had trouble, the soreness from the night before having completely faded.

Pushing the covers off me, I slowly lifted myself from the warm confines of the bed before I found myself shivering as I sat on the mattress. The air was pretty damn cold, so I endeavoured to get my clothes on sooner rather than later. Placing myself on my right leg first before my injured one. Pain shot up through my leg as I did, making me grimace as I placed all my weight on the good leg.

I sighed, this was going to be _so much_ fun.

I powered through the pain shooting through my leg as I limped as best I could to the nightstand, where my hopefully warmer clothes awaited me. Reaching it, I put all my weight on my good leg once more as I took stock.

My clothes had seen better days. While my boxers were fine, my shirt had some bullet holes, and my pants had a massive tear. I sighed at my inspection, not only had I liked these, but I would have to get new ones. And every bit of money not going to a distress beacon meant a longer time on this planet, something I _really_ don't want.

Moving on, I found myself thanking Avian for having me leave the Matter Manipulator, as Honey had removed the flashlight and plugin from the confines of my clothing. There was something missing though…

Where was the key?

I turned my attention to my pants, hoping that Honey had simply not noticed the key as I grabbed the denim clothing from their spot. Searching through all the pockets, I found nothing.

No no no!

Dropping the pants, I tore through the rest of my clothes, searching for the vital item. Finding nothing in them as well, I dropped them all, as the reality finally sunk in.

I lost the key… This collar was stuck on me…

I stood there, silent as the realization sunk in. I ignored the beep that sounded off.

I lost my fucking key…

A faint orange light from the corner of my eye.

 _I lost my fucking key…_

Another beep.

"I LOST MY FUCKING- Ah!" I grabbed my collar as it interrupted my scream and my anger with its powerful shock.

I sighed. I hate this planet.

"So you lost something in the river?"

I immediately whirled around to face the voice that had snuck up on me, and in doing so put nearly all my weight on my bad leg. I let out a yelp of pain and fell to the ground, grimacing at the burning that shot through my leg.

"Yeah, you really shouldn't be walking around." Continued the voice.

Realizing it was female, I looked at its origin to find a honey badger walking towards me. She was sporting some chained dog tags along with a white tank top and camo-printed vest, hugging the waist was basic cargo pants, adding to her 'soldierly' look was spots of disheveled and matted fur all over her. Finishing the whole thing off was the collar on her neck, while it was identical to the one I was wearing, it still felt weird to see someone wearing such a thing.

I only had a moment to notice her rather flat chest before heat rushed to my face, reminded that I was still naked in front of this women, the blush hidden by my crimson fur as I tried to get up and put some clothes on.

"Mind giving a man some privacy?" I asked, hoping to spare myself the embarrassment.

"I'm a doctor, it's nothing I haven't seen before." She responded, walking next to me and getting me upright. She brought my left arm over her shoulders, doing the job my leg couldn't.

"Not exactly something a man wants to hear." I said, mouth running faster then my brain.

The badger only rolled her eyes as she reached down to pick my boxers off the floor, handing them to me. My blush only grew as she helped me put my own clothes on, growing too red for even my fur to hide.

Once again, my mouth opened before my brain could stop it. "Not the usual uniform for a doctor, you going to war later?"

The badger rolled her eyes again. "Great, just what I need, another smartass in my life."

I talk to Avian too much.

"So, your Honey then?" asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah, name's Honey Badger."

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Who would name their kid that?

"Yours?" She suddenly asked, probably wanting to move on from her… odd name.

"John." I answered. "John Parker." I added.

A flash of recognition flashed in Honey's eyes before fading, I almost didn't notice it before my stomach let out a loud growl. Surprising me with its intensity before I felt the actual hunger set in after. Apparently, I was pretty damn hungry.

Honey chuckled at the sound. "Cmon, let's get you something to eat." She said as she moved to help me up once more.

Being the (sometimes) polite person that I was, I of course tried to refuse, saying; "No I wouldn't want to impose, you've done enough for me." Causing Honey to frown.

"I already helped save you, might as well go all the way." She said, her voice firm and allowing no argument.

"Besides, if you're that hungry I doubt you'd last an hour back on the street." She added, a small amount of concern sneaking into her voice.

"You're probably right…" I admitted, before realising something. "...How long have I been out anyways?"

"Three days." She answered.

"Damn." I said, not even realizing I said it aloud. Surprised my body hasn't started cannibalizing itself.

"Yeah." Honey responded. "I was worried you weren't going to wake up till you took the painkillers."

"Why were you worried for me? You didn't know me until just now." I asked, genuinely curious about why she cared. I was just some stranger to her, no reason for her to worry about my well being.

Honey looked at me like I was stupid. "Us preds gotta stick together, one less pred means the sheep are one step closer to winning!"

I ignored her comment about the sheep, something to ask about later

"The day you found me was my first in the city, not really this need to stick together where I come from." I explained, hoping the explanation would convince her.

She seemed to buy it as she chuckled. "Yeah? Well, welcome to Zootopia." She said. "Where we have to stick together and sheep plot to kill us all." She added, sounding as serious as she did humorous.

I raised an eyebrow as we walked through the hall. I really can't tell if she's being serious or not.

After slowly making our way down some stairs, we found ourselves in a fairly large room. A table sat in the middle with six chairs surrounding it, sitting at one end was a _very_ fat cheetah who didn't seem to notice us while he ate some cereal and read the book he had. The cheetah was wearing a white t-shirt and some grey pants, as well as the collar that every other predator had on. Setting me down at the other end, Honey let go of me and walked to an open door way which presumably held the kitchen.

"John, meet Benjamin Clawhauser. Ben, meet John Parker." She called out, causing the cheetah to look up from his book and finally notice our presence.

Seeing me at the other end of the table, he smiled and waved, letting out a 'hi' as he did. I waved back, giving my own greeting to the guy as Honey left the room. Clawhauser and I didn't speak, allowing a silence to grow between us.

"How did you get so strong?" He asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?" I asked, surprised at the suddenness.

"Sorry…" He apologised, looking sheepish. "...But you beat a rhino and I was wondering…" He explained, looking ashamed of some assumed offense.

"How do you even know I did?" I asked, wondering where he found out about my confrontation.

"It was on the news!" He happily answered, unaware of the horror I felt at the revelation.

"Are the police… Looking for me?" I asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

"No, they thought you died in the river." He assured, leaving me to give a sigh of relief.

That's good, really could not afford to be a wanted fox.

"And the four who tried to?" I asked, curious about the fate of those I fought.

"They went to the hospital, I heard they're all getting charged with murder." He answered, sounding happy at the news. I imagine justice is a rare thing for predators on this planet.

"That's good." I said, I wouldn't want them to come after me again after they heal. Clawhauser gained a look suggesting he wanted to say something. "And an answer to your question; I got this way by sticking to a grueling workout routine for over a decade."

Total lie, no matter how hard I trained there was no way I was taking down a rhino without enhancements, let alone one that looked like bodybuilder.

Clawhauser looked happy be saved from having to ask again as he moved the conversation from my strength to other topics. And from this, I started gaining an insight to the person in front of me.

He had a bubbly personality that was apparent throughout the conversation, adding to that was an optimism that made itself known. His attitude was apparently contagious, as I found my spirits lifting just listening to him ramble off-topic about what he liked.

As I watched the doorway Honey had disappeared to, Clawhauser finished up his cereal with a final gulp before asking; "Have you ever listened to Gazelle?"

Looking back at the cheetah, I assumed he was talking about a singer when I answered no, and asked if he was any good.

Clawhauser looked almost offended I didn't know. "She's _only_ the best singer is the world! All her albums are filled with emotion, you just feel the weight of the world on you when you listen to her."

"To be honest Ben, I prefer feeling ready to take on the world when I listen to music." I responded, feeling skeptical of listening to this Gazelle now.

"Some of her albums are optimistic!" He reassured, hoping to convince me to give her a chance. "Those ones are about the end of the collars."

Now that was interesting, judging from the name, a prey that's against the collars. A famous one at that. I wonder what her popularity is among prey...

"Alright, you've convinced me. I'll give her stuff a listen later." I said, curiosity over this musician winning me over.

"You can borrow some of mine." Offered Clawhauser, happy to have convinced me to give his favorite singer a try.

I thanked Clawhauser as Honey finally reentered the room, carrying a bowl and some milk. Though now she was wearing… A tinfoil hat.

What?

Clawhauser seemed uncomfortable as Honey placed everything down, and grabbed the cereal box that had been next to him.

"Uh, you have your hat on, Honey." He said, glancing over to me like he'd rather me not know she had it.

Given how Honey is seeming more and more like one of those conspiracy theorists who actually believe their theories, I don't really blame him. I wouldn't want to be associated with someone like that either.

Honey's next words didn't exactly inspire confidence. "I know, it's already been too long." She said, saying it as if it was the most normal thing in the galaxy.

Honey then prepared my meal, pouring milk and cereal into the bowl she brought before shoving it over to me, handing me a spoon to eat with as I gave a 'thank you.' Using the spoon and shoveling the food into my hungry mouth, I found the cereal tasted heavenly. Like someone had shrunk some of my favorite foods into bite size packages.

While I realized this was probably because I hadn't eaten anything in three days, that didn't stop me from tearing into the meal with gusto. While I did this, a silence grew in the room, interrupted only by sounds of a _very_ hungry fox enjoying his meal.

As I swallowed the last bit of food in my bowl, only a puddle of milk remained. Not really satisfied, but it was enough for now.

"That was good." I said, stating the obvious. "Thank you Honey."

Honey nodded, accepting the thanks before speaking. "Your welcome. Now that you're done stuffing yourself, could you answer some things I've been wondering about?"

"Sure, what about?"

"How did you get such an old collar?" She asked, making my tail twitch.

Shit, I had thought that new collars would be made since the last time my mother was here, but the collars I've seen on these people were identical to mine. So how could they know?

"Come again?" I asked, hoping that a second question would reveal at least a little bit more to base a lie on.

"Your collar, if it had been the latest one you would have been shocked to death long before you drowned, so how did you get it?" She explained, giving me more then enough to answer her.

"I'm off the grid..." I said, testing the water as I observed her reaction. Honey seemed to buy it so far, so I continued. "...So far off the grid that as far as the city is concerned, I don't exist."

Not really a lie, as I was born offworld.

Unfortunately, Honey called bullshit, saying that's impossible.

"Not impossible, just really hard..." I argued, and continuing with a appeal to a result I know she would like. "And worth it when no one notices when I don't show up for the latest collar."

Honey couldn't seem to find a argument against what I said, and it looked like Clawhauser was jealous.

"You gotta be the luckiest fox I ever met." He happily said. "Not only a waterproof collar but it's easy to get keys for the older ones too!"

So that's why that wolf looked at me like that, if I was wearing the same collar as everyone else, the collar would have shocked me to death in the heavy rain.

Seems like whoever made the collars are the opposite of inventors, stripping features in the later versions. And given the status of predators in this world, probably for different reasons then someone was being cheap.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"What's with the tattoo on your back?" She asked, making me freeze, tail going straight as a rod and my eyes widening.

Oh fuck, I was hoping she hadn't seen that.

She was talking about the symbol of the Protectorate on my back, marked by black fur. I got it as soon as I graduated, other graduates simply getting it tattooed, my fur ensured that the tat would eventually be trimmed over time with my fur. So instead my biology was altered so the fur would instead grow black. The whole thing came with taking the oath of a protector, so it stays on me as long as I am one.

And now it's getting me into trouble. My reaction alone had made Honey raise an eyebrow and I don't really have a explanation.

"Let's just say that some friends and I got really drunk one time, and we'll leave it at that." I said, hoping my poorly thought out excuse would convince them. Clawhauser seemed ready to leave it be, but I had no such luck with Honey.

"You not only managed to get a collar key, but you managed to make a intricate symbol on your back while drunk?" She asked, incredulous of my claim.

"Well, like Clawhauser said…" I started, my mouth spewing lies as fast as I could come up with them. "...Older keys are easier to get. And I don't really remember what happened that night, I just woke up with a hangover and found out my friends played artists on my back."

"And where's that key now?" She asked, her voice remaining skeptical.

"I don't know, I lost it in the river." I answered, being more honest at the moment.

"That's terrible!" Cried Clawhauser, interrupting whatever retort Honey had for me.

Clawhauser them gave a look to Honey, as if suggesting something to the badger. Honey, gave her own look back as well as shaking her head so subtly that I almost didn't notice. Her answer, a no to the cheetah seemed to leave him a bit dejected before they ended their silent conversation and looked back to me.

They were definitely hiding something...

I suppressed a chuckle, like I could complain about keeping secrets.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening the next room over, the heavy rain outside being heard all the way in here from the open entrance. Just as quickly as it started, it stopped again as the door was slammed shut by the person entering.

"Honey! I'm home!" A male voice exclaimed, causing Honey to roll her eyes. I imagine that joke has long since gotten old for her.

As I listened to the noises the newcomer was making in the other room. Honey pulled out a watch from her pocket, checking the time before placing it back in its spot.

"They're back early." She said, seeming to forget about the tat, which suited me just fine.

Listening to the person, I managed to faintly hear the footsteps as they walked towards us. Two of them, one set of footsteps far softer than the other, almost couldn't hear it.

Coming around the corner, I got my first look of these newcomers. One was a fox, with red fur that was almost a orangy-red, a tan underbelly, and emerald eyes. He was wearing a green hawaiian t-shirt, a loose blue and pink striped tie, and some grey khakis that were damp at the end of the legs. Topping it all off was a smug, self satisfied smile.

Coming up beside him was a fennec about half his size if you count the ears. He was covered in a mixture of brown and tan fur and had chocolate-colored eyes. He was wearing a black button up t-shirt with some red stripes and green shorts. He was also sporting a frown, one that seemed directed at his friend. I know that fennecs on Earth are pretty damn small, so I'm assuming that the one before me is _not_ a kid, no matter what his size might suggest.

Both wore collars, each one snugly fitting around their necks like a noose.

The fox immediately noticed my presence, saying; "Hey, you're awake."

I opened my muzzle to respond, but Honey spoke before I could. "Yeah, he is. How did it go?"

Did she just cut me off?

"How do you _think_ it went?" The fennec angrily replied, speaking in a deep baritone voice that was more suited to someone ten times his size, confirming my suspicions about his age.

"Better than you expected." Said the fox, causing the fennec to glare at him, his collar giving off a yellow light.

"That isn't saying much." Honey replied, a frown forming on her own face.

"It's something." The fox deflected, his smile starting to falter.

"If you can call ten dollars something." The fennec muttered.

Not wanting to be left out of the conversation, I interrupted. "Hold on a moment, what were you guys doing?"

Before the fox could reply, the fennec beat him to it. "Nick decided it would be a _genius idea_ to try selling popsicles in the rain."

"It would have been fine if the lemmings bank wasn't closed." The fox, apparently named Nick shot back.

"The whole city is flooded! The fuck did you expect?!" Yelled the fennec, his collar beeping and glowing a dangerous orange now.

"You're gonna shock yourself." Nick calmly replied.

The fennec didn't listen. "That they would swi- Gah!" He went as his collar went off, his whole body going stock still as the electricity coursed through his tiny body.

An uncomfortable silence descended as the fennec calmed down.

"So… You are?" Asked Nick, breaking the silence.

Realising the question was directed at me, I gave him the same answer I gave Honey.

"Nick." He introduced, walking forward with his paw outstretched. After shaking, he pointed towards the fennec. "And he's Finnick."

"Pleasure." I politely stated.

"We're the ones that found you next to the river." He continued, bringing up a reality I had been trying to avoid.

I know that my job as a protector could end up killing me at some point. I accepted it a long time ago, and I had dedicated myself fully to becoming a protector. So I was not afraid of death.

I was afraid of my death being meaningless. The idea of just being another nameless fox who died in a city that didn't care, while the Protectorate wrote me off as just another 'missing in action,' was terrifying.

And these two saved me from that death...

"...Thank you, for saving my life." I replied, placing an extreme gratefulness in my voice as I did. Gesturing to Finnick and Honey as well, I continued. "I owe you. I owe you guys a lot."

Nick's smug attitude faded, replaced with a more embarrassed smile. The smile of someone not used to being praised. Nick smothered the smile quickly though, hiding behind a smug mask once again

Meanwhile, Finnick had a far most interesting reaction. His eyes that once seemed to hold utter contempt for everything around him instead sparkled with an idea. I'll probably end up seeing what that idea is later.

"If you guys need my help with anything, anything at all, tell me." I promised.

"We didn't do this because we wanted something from you." Said Honey, interrupting my thoughts.

"But you deserve something." I responded.

"At least wait until that leg heals up before you go doing anything for us." She said, tone demanding obedience.

"Yeah, yeah." I submitted. I may be know how to use a first aid kit, but that doesn't exactly translate to knowing just how screwed up I am.

The conversation we were all having seemed to die off at that point. With everyone going off to do their own thing. Nick traveling into the kitchen, Finnick going into a living room and Clawhauser following him. In short order, it was just me and Honey as I poured some more cereal into my bowl. The day speeding by like a movie on speed.

I awoke as rain lightly splashed against the window.

I let out a yawn as I stretched out in bed, quite content to lay here and fall back asleep. Plans of laziness were foiled though, as my stomach let out a growl, demanding I go get something to eat.

I sighed, not wanting to get out of bed just yet, but forced myself out of the covers anyways.

At least I had a dreamless night.

Getting on my feet, I felt no pain from my injured leg, only a dull ache that forced me to limp. Looking over to the other bed, I saw NIck laying there, still asleep. His smartphone charging on the nightstand.

I had learned yesterday about the phones they had here, and apparently smartphones are no longer a purely human invention.

Limping over to my own nightstand with a another yawn, I went about putting my clothes on. Once again being reminded that I need new ones by the bullet holes and tears. Once fully clothed, I made my way out of the room and to the kitchen, eyes heavy and still ready to sleep

Finding myself where I had eaten all the cereal yesterday, I saw Clawhauser sat at the table, exact same spot as last time. Eating what little cereal I had not eaten the day before. He was reading his book again too, just like yesterday.

Clawhauser went to take another bite of cereal, noticing me as he did. "Morning John." He said, before he shoved the spoonful in his mouth.

"Morning, Ben." I responded, voice almost cracking as I walked past him into the kitchen.

Inside, I found Finnick sitting on the counter, next to a coffee machine, all warmed up and ready to go. As I had found out yesterday, coffee does exist on this planet.

Thank the lord for small mercies. No amount of enhancements can make a coffeeless world survivable.

Finnick was cradling a mug in both his paws, a mug which was almost as big as his torso. Seeing me, he gave me a 'morning' in a voice even deeper than his usual, sleepiness not being kind to the fennec.

Like me, he was not a morning person.

While I had woken up without feeling this sleepiness the past few days, that only really happened because of the circumstances surrounding it. Now that I've gone to sleep without almost dying again, my brain has decided; 'fuck it, back to being shitty in the morning.'

Stupid brain.

Refocusing on getting to the coffee machine, I pushed my thoughts away as I gave my own 'morning' to Finnick.

It took me some time to find a mug of my own, and to figure out how the machine worked. But with some help from Finnick, I overcame my unfamiliarity with the device. The machine spitting out some black coffee of a flavour I had not bothered to read.

After the coffee was done, I didn't add anything to it. Taking a sip, I tasted the strong, almost bitter flavour as the burning hot liquid rolled over my tongue. I frowned at the taste, having drunk far better coffee during my time on Earth

I sighed, better than nothing though. I could already feel myself waking up.

I simple stood in the kitchen, next to Finnick as we both drank our wake up call. Silence broken only by the sounds of us sipping the precious liquid. Finnick finished his first, having gotten here before I had. He looked far more awake as he walked across the counter and placed his mug in the sink, before turning back to me.

"The leg better?" He asked.

"Just about, probably won't even have a limp tomorrow." I responded, going to drink the last bit of coffee in my mug

"Good, cause I have something I need you to do."

I paused and raised an eyebrow, that was quick.

"Okay, what do you need?" I asked before tilting my mug and chugging the coffee inside.

Finnick hesitated for a moment, before answering me with a question; "You know why Honey was so interested in how much we made yesterday?"

"No?" I responded, raising my eyebrow even higher, curious on where the fennec was going with this.

"Well, the four of us are in a lot of debt." He answered. "About twenty thousand." He added.

That explains why they were trying to sell in the rain yesterday.

"And we only have a few days to pay it all off." Finnick continued.

"Can't you just negotiate with the bank?" I asked, momentarily forgetting the kind of world I'm on. They probably would screw these guys as hard as they could.

Finnick's face turned grim. "We owe it to a crime boss."

Oh.

Shit.

"That's… pretty bad. But what does that have to do with me…" I asked, before realization dawned on me. "Oooh no."

I swore an oath when I passed the final test needed to become a Protector: To protect life across the galaxy, to support, house, and educate it... And to put a bullet in those who do the opposite. A crime boss is the kind of person I would be killing, not helping!

"We're not asking you to kill him, we're asking you to kill the reason he's calling all the debt now." Finnick responded, not aware of why I was refusing in the first place.

I blinked.

"That's much better?!"

"A snitch is going to be spilling everything about him in a few days. So Kozlov is having everyone in the city pay up." Explained Finnick.

"No Finnick, I'm won't to kill the snitch. Maybe beat the crap out of him, but not kill him. I don't want to be that kind of person." I responded, hoping the little guy would understand.

"You think I do?! **"** He yelled in response, his usually deep voice raised loud enough to make me wince.

Apparently not.

"You think I _want_ to be plotting someone's death?! That my- Ah!" He went, his yell turned into a yelp of pain as his collar went off. Once again shocking the poor guy.

A silence descended as Finnick calmed himself down.

"I don't know what rock you've been hiding under, but we all have to do things we hate." He said, sounding like he spoke from experience.

"I didn't _want_ to be some con artist scamming mammals out of their money, but there isn't any other place in life for me. Just like I don't want to plot some poor bastard's murder, I have to because he's the reason Kozlov is calling in our debt." Finnick continued, looking almost depressed at what he's saying.

"Besides… You owe us. I'm calling it in."

He was right, about me hiding under a rock. I always have been in a way.

Before I got here, I had never actually faced adversity. I never had to struggle to survive, never had to face racism, never had to make hard decisions. Now that I'm here, I'm going to have to go through that struggle, face that prejudice, and make those decisions so I can make it back to the Protectorate before it's too late.

Besides, as Finnick said, I owe them. I owe them my life, least I can do is save theirs. But...

"Okay, so how do you expect me to do this? I have nothing but my claws against what will probably be a heavy police escort." I asked, not really looking forward to what I am agreeing to.

"Kozlov can get you any weapon you want if you ask him." Finnick answered, smiling at the fact he convinced me to do this.

I sighed. That's it then, no getting out of this.

"Fuck my life."

"Fuck your life indeed."

* * *

 **So John has met his saviors and gotten roped into doing something questionable. Poor John. Beyond that there is some hints to the future some of you might already have guessed at.**

 **I don't know about you guys, but writing dialogue that sounds believable for canon characters is a lot harder then for OC characters. Hopefully I did good and you enjoyed it. Be sure to list any criticisms you have in the reviews, I like reading them, and improving as a writer.**

 **See you all in the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 3: Murder On My Mind

**Ok, I finished with the latest chapter and the rewrite, time to post after... 2 MONTHS?!**

 **Damn, this took way longer then I intended. Not nearly as much time as I would've liked was spent writing on this, what can I say? Video Games are fun. Add to that is a rewrite of the prologue (which should be online now, go back and read it) that I really wanted to be ready by the time I posted this ensured that I just delayed the whole damn chapter.**

 **But now its finished and you all can enjoy, hopefully.**

 **3/9/2017: Some minor edits to fix a few mistakes pointed out to me in a PM.**

* * *

Clawhauser and I sat at the table, both with bowls of cereal filled with milk. Finnick had said it would take some time to arrange a meeting with this 'Kozlov' guy, so I found myself with nothing else to do but to get some breakfast and talk with the cheetah.

"Why'd you come to Zootopia anyway?" He asked before shoving a spoonful in his mouth.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I just go wherever life takes me." I answered, thinking back to my teenage years and how little I had planned my life before joining the Protectorate.

The Human government gave out subsidies to 'endangered races' like my own. During my teenage years I would use this money to run off and explore all of human space without the need to ever work for a living. During those years, I had never even considered the heart I broke when I left.

Hindsight is a real bitch.

"Doesn't that get… Lonely?" Said Clawhauser, frowning in concern.

"What do you mean?"

"Leaving everyone behind when you move." He clarified, before taking another bite of food.

"Not really, no. I enjoy traveling the world more than anything." I answered, being completely truthful at that moment. Modern technology made it easy to keep in touch across the galaxy, and the galaxy was full of beautiful sites and incredible experiences.

Made it hard to sit in one place your whole life.

Swallowing his food, Clawhauser wasn't done yet. "What about family? Don't they miss you?"

"I don't have one… Never knew my father and my mother died a long time ago." I said, voice going soft as I remembered all the good times I had as a kit.

Those were the days.

"Oh. My. Gosh." He started, looking horrified at my reaction. "I am SO sorry, I didn't know-"

"Ben." I interrupted, stopping him before he could continue his apology. "You don't need to apologize. I'm not some traumatized kit that breaks down the moment someone mentions my dead mother."

"Yeah, but…" Started Clawhauser, still looking ashamed. "...I can't imagine you _like_ someone bringing up the death of someone you loved."

"You're right, I don't." I admitted. "But it's not your fault for not knowing."

As I finished speaking, I saw Honey walk in from the kitchen. Carrying a mug full of coffee and wearing her tinfoil hat as she took a seat at the table.

"Besides…" I continued. "It may have been the darkest moment of my life, but I like to think I came out of it a better I was" I finished, reminding myself of the promises I made that day.

Silence reigned in the room, Clawhauser looking like he was both inspired by my words, and ashamed that he brought the topic up. While Honey looked rather indifferent, having just joined in on the conversation.

"So, Honey…" I suddenly stated, almost startling the other two. "...You said you were a doctor yesterday?" I asked, looking to know more about the badger.

"Yeah, used to work at the hospital in Happytown." She answered, taking a sip of coffee as she did.

"Happytown is the predator district." Clawhauser explained, answering my question before I could ask it. But there was still one other question I had.

"Used to?"

Honey frowned. "The Sheep decided to close that one down and just put all the patients in other hospitals." She answered in disgust.

"Do they… Get worse treatment?" I asked, hesitant at her agitation.

"No…" She admitted, voice losing its spite for just a moment. "...But with a staff terrified of you, it's not exactly better."

"I'm guessing the Happytown one didn't get much money from City Hall."

" _The Sheep_ …" Honey corrected. "...Barely gave us enough to keep the lights on, but we made it work."

I hummed at the answer. I imagined it looked similar to the hospitals you saw in active war zones in pre-unification Earth.

"You keep mentioning 'The Sheep,' Honey. Mind explaining that to me?" I asked, genuinely confused about what she means by that.

Clawhauser immediately started waving his arms and shaking his head no, while Honey had her full attention on me

"You don't know about _The Sheep_?" She asked incredulously. Clawhauser's reaction was starting to make me question the wisdom of my words.

"Well if you want to know about The Sheep then you've come to the right badger!" Honey exclaimed, seeming happy that I had taken an interest.

"You see, I've figured out _everything_." She said.

Clawhauser looked a little _annoyed_ of all things as Honey continued. "The Sheep want to a world where they are the _only remaining_ species. They've pigeonholed every other race into specific roles with the government roles filled by them."

I blinked as I digested the information.

She wasn't done. "Its why they started the war, and put these collars on us…" She said, gesturing to both our collars. "...And push anti-pred propaganda on prey."

"Its why I built a bunker under my kitchen…" She continued, pointing to said kitchen as she did. "...So I could escape their endless tyranny and hatred!"

"It wasn't easy, but I did it!" She added, sounding quite proud of herself in that statement.

...Honestly, that's not nearly as farfetched as I thought it would be. This theory was not somthing I would put past some of the governments and organizations that inhabit the galaxy. And the Apex government was admittedly far more brutal in the suppression of its people then a digital age society ever could be.

Still though, it _is_ a conspiracy theory. Though like them as much as the next guy, I should remain skeptical until I get in touch with Avian and have her verify what she could.

"Well Honey, that was enlightening." I said, with a sincerity in my words that surprised Clawhauser.

Said cheetah took this moment to cough, getting our attention. "Didn't you want to keep your bunker a secret, Honey?"

"Normally, yes. But if John is gonna live with us, he should know about it." Honey stated.

A moment passed before I did a double take. "Wait… What?! You want me to live here?!"

"What? You thought we'd toss you out onto the street as soon as your leg's better?" Asked Honey, curious at my surprise.

"Yes." I bluntly stated. expecting anything more and you would get called entitled in human space.

Honey rolled her eyes. "Like I said yesterday, us preds gotta stick together. Now I don't know much about you, but I know enough that you don't have anywhere else to go."

I frowned, she was right. I had not talked much with Honey yesterday, but I told her enough in between eating for her to piece together just how moneyless I was. If I left here, I would right back to square one. Sure, the risk of my true nature getting discovered was higher, but that was a risk worth taking for now.

On a related note, I wasn't sure to admire or mock her faith in my trustworthiness. I may be in a similar boat as her with this collar, but that does not suddenly make me an ally.

"Okay…" I conceded, pushing my thoughts away. "...But I'm not going to freeload off you guys."

"Who said you were?" Responded Honey, implying she already had something in mind. "But as your doctor, I'm not allowing you to repay us until that leg is healed."

Her words were firm, and I knew there was no arguing this point.

"Fine…" I mumbled, as Finnick came out of the living room, putting his phone in his pocket as he did. Giving me a look, as he nodded his head towards the exit.

The meeting is happening already? That was fast.

"Taking John to get some things, be back later." Lied Finnick, surprising me as I got up from my seat.

"You're taking John with you?" Asked a confused Honey.

"He's gonna need some new clothes." Finnick responded as I limped over to the doorway he was waiting by. Honey seemed to accept the explanation as she did not immediately respond as I followed Finnick out of the room.

"Stay safe you two, stay awake!" She called out to our retreating forms.

"Bye Finnick! Bye John!" Said Clawhauser.

Finnick didn't respond as I turned to wave before leaving, coming up to the front door of the house. Next to the door were coat hangers that held a variety of raincoats for the lightly slashing rain outside. Finnick grumbled, walking over to the sole hanger that was low enough for him to reach, looking like it had been installed solely for him.

I felt sympathy for the little guy, it really sucks being reminded your short stature, and being a fox among humans meant you _always_ got a reminder.

I was about to open the door when Finnick interrupted. "Take Nick's coat, closest thing to your size."

"I don't need a coat though." I responded, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah you do. Unless you want to advertise your old collar." Said Finnick, making my eyes widen as I realized just how lucky I am for not running into any cops so far.

All things considered, I would probably get _arrested_ for having this old collar.

I pushed those thoughts away as I followed Finnick's advice, taking a raincoat that I assumed was Nick's. The coat itself was a simple design, carrying some pockets, a zipper, and a hoodie, covered in a dark green.

Putting the coat on, and pulling up the hoodie, I watched as Finnick in his own black coloured coat reach up for the door knob. The door had to be big enough for someone like Clawhauser to get in, so Finnick found himself having to jump up to reach the knob.

Managing to grab and turn the mechanism, the door popped inward ever so slightly, allowing Finnick to grab the edge and pull it open. Some rain from fell through the entrance as Finnick and I walked outside, closing the door behind us.

Sitting in the driveway was a van, with small bits of rust and various dents hinting at a long life on the road. The whole vehicle was painted, a simple orange covered most of the hull, while on the side there was a painting of a brown furred fox carrying a sleeping arctic vixen in his arms. I assumed the painting was fresh, as the paint didnt look like it had been scratched from the damage or peeled from age.

"You coming?" Yelled Finnick, forcing my eye away from the loud artwork.

I looked over and saw that the fennec was waiting next to the driver side door, having made his way over while I took it all in. I limped as fast as I could over to the passenger side to catch up.

The car door wasn't painted, it's the dull metal clashing with the rest of the car. Opening said door, I climbed into the seat, using some steps carved into the hull. Pulling the seatbelt down and hearing click with lock, I looked over to see Finnick climbing into his own seat, pulling himself up with a surprising amount of ease for his smaller size.

Getting on top of the box placed on the seat, Finnick didn't bother with a seatbelt as he pulled a keychain out of his pocket and placed it in the ignition. Turning the key, I heard the engine roar to life. He disengaged the parking brake and shifted the vehicle into drive, pushing a button on the steering wheel to accelerate out of the driveway and into the road. A smile grew on Finnick's face, looking proud of himself. For what, I wasn't certain.

With the road empty of traffic for now, I figured now was a good time to ask what I'd been wondering about.

"So…" I started, not quite sure how to word my question. "...Why'd you lie to them?"

Instantly, Finnick's smile was replaced by a frown while a small growl arose out of him.

"'Cause they're all being bitches with this." He answered, making me raise an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"They won't help me do this. Would've given us shit before we left." He growled out, collar turning yellow as he did.

"You're mad at them for not helping you kill someone?" I asked incredulously.

Finnick snarled, collar turning red before yelling; "That's not the po-!" He went, before being interrupted by the shock. His whole body spasmed, and he lost control of the van as his arms refused to obey him, sending us careening into the wrong lane.

My heart rate spiked at the danger, hearing a beep sound off from my own collar, I grabbed onto anything solid and braced for a crash. I heard things smashing behind me as the vehicle drove wherever it pleased.

After just a second of spasms, the shock subsided and Finnick the van, pulling the wheel into a hard right to the curb and engaged the brake, opening the door and slamming it as he jumped out. Watching his large ears walk around the front, I saw Finnick emerge to my right and sit down on the sidewalk, taking a breather in an attempt to calm himself.

Deciding to join him, I opened my own door. Sliding out of the vehicle and landing on my feet, I looked back at the van, with its back end sticking out into the road.

That's a ticket waiting to happen, we shouldn't spend too time much here.

With that knowledge in mind, I walked over to Finnick and sat down next to him. The fennec taking in deep breaths as I watched the road. The road was thankfully still empty, which I was happy for, I would've hated to see what happened if we had crashing into someone.

About half a minute passed before I heard Finnick give a massive sigh as he got up from his position, scratching some fur under his collar as he looked over to me.

"Let's go, Kozlov won't like it if we're late." He mumbled, sounding more depressed than anything else at the possibly fatal joy ride just now.

I didn't respond as we both got back in the vehicle. Finnick only having to disengage the brake before we were back on the road towards our destination. Despite the sound of the van's engine pushing us along, the silence between us was deafening, neither of us really wanting to continue the conversation.

Looking over to Finnick, I really had to wonder how his temper could survive. With these collars on us, just getting even a little agitated is enough for the collar to go yellow. Yet despite getting shocked three times in just the short period I had known him, he still keeps letting his anger get the better of him.

As Finnick turned a corner, I let out a small sigh. The day I get off this planet can't come fast enough.

"You ever killed before?" Finnick suddenly asked, shaking me from my thoughts.

"Uh, what?" I went, startled by the question.

"Have you killed a mammal?" He asked, his normal baritone carrying a somberness I didn't expect.

A moment passed before I responded.

"Yeah."

Finnick sighed. "You do what you need to do to survive, no matter how much you don't want to do it." He muttered, I imagine speaking from some past experience.

I understood where he was coming from. Killing someone, and then living with the fact that a whole life full of emotions and relationships ended because of you, is not an easy thing.

I should know.

"Ben and Honey think that we can just hide in her bunker…" Finnick continued. "...While _Nick_ thinks he can just con his way outta this." He finished, spitting Nick's name like a slur.

At the same time, I understood why the others refused to help. The mere thought of killing someone else is terrifying for most people.

Luckily for me, and for him, we were no strangers to what we're doing.

"That's why you and I are doing this, so they don't have to."

"And we'd be fucked if you didn't come along."

I hummed, didn't really have anything else to add to that.

With the conversation over, a silence descended once more as we continued towards our meeting.

* * *

It had been a pretty long drive, traffic and environmental hazards kept us from gaining any speed, especially when we got into the 'Tundratown' district.

The area certainly earned it's name, as the artificial climate kept the temperatures below freezing and turned the rain into snow. The cool air and falling snow bringing back pleasant memories of the winter holidays back on Earth.

This winter wonderland held a dark underbelly though, Finnick tells me this area was where Kozlov, or 'Mr. Cold' did most of his business. And nearly half of the people here work for him one way or another.

Our business with him brought us to an out of the way alley to have our meeting. Finnick backed up his van into the spot. Engaging the brake and pulling the key out of the ignition, Finnick put on some Aviators Sunglasses as he gave a tiny sigh, betraying his nervousness.

Given his situation, I could understand why. He and the others owed a lot of money, and he was about to meet with the crime boss they owed it to. Even if they were on good terms, it had to be nerve wracking. Like him, a part of me was nervous as well. I didn't owe any money, and while 'Mr. Cold' needed my skills, if the worse happened, I couldn't hope to fight back with this limp.

Finnick looked at me, his eyes hidden by the shades. "Let's go." He said, before opening the door and hopping out.

I did the same, sliding out of the van as I landed on a thin layer of snow as the cool air surrounded me. Limping to the back of the van, I met up with Finnick as I looked to the other end of the alley.

At the other end of the alley, in front of a black van, was a polar bear. He looked about six times my size, wearing a unbuttoned black suit and tie, with the undershirt being just as black with the rest of his clothing. Around the eyes, white fur turned to black skin, giving the eyes a sunken in look that suggested a long life of less than legal work.

A more primal part of me was intimidated.

He wasn't intimidating like Florans were, with the conscious knowledge of their aggressive nature and usual lack of empathy for other races. He was intimidating a different way, his large size triggering all sorts of buried instincts that all told me to run my stupid ass away.

I suppressed those feelings easily enough, humans triggered those same instincts as well. And I lived among them all my life.

Still payed to be cautious though, I had no idea what he was hiding behind that unbuttoned suit jacket of his.

"Where's Mr. Cold?" Asked Finnick, shaking me from my thoughts.

"He thought it best that he doesn't meet the hitman before the job." Replied the white furred ursine, his voice booming in my ears.

I couldn't help but wince at the bear's voice, his large size ensuring the mere act of speaking felt like someone had shoved a megaphone in my ear. A megaphone you could get used to, as Finnick's much larger ears just twitched at the bear's words.

"You have the rifle?" Finnick asked, bringing me from my thoughts.

The bear didn't respond as he reached into his jacket, fishing for something before pulling out a black briefcase. As he did, I noticed a pistol hanging from a hip mounted holster, hidden underneath the suit and available to see for just a moment. Seeing it, I felt my ears flatten against my skull, damn thing was the size of a _shotgun_ to me!

My thoughts on the bear's weapon were interrupted when he opened the briefcase and showed the interior to Finnick and I. My vulpine eyes more then capable of observing the inside from our distance.

Inside the briefcase was a disassembled sniper rifle, its parts all placed in neat pockets of foam to prevent any noise from being made. Everything I needed was there, the stock, the scope, the barrel, even a single magazine of ammo was inside. And from would I could tell, the design was bolt action, an old design by modern standards, but I could work with this.

"Alright, Let's talk about payment." Said Finnick.

I gulped, moment of truth here.

The bear looked over at me. "Zerdan claimed that forgiving his debt was suitable payment…" The bear gestured to Finnick. "Is this true?"

I nodded.

"Then our business here is finished." Said the bear, walking forward with arm outstretched and paw open.

Realizing what he wanted, I walked forward as well, meeting in the center of the alley. With his paw so much larger than mine, all I could do is just place mine in his palm and let him shake my whole arm, after which he gave me the briefcase.

"Do not attempt to contact us after it is done, we shall contact you." The bear said before turning towards the parked van. Seeing no reason to stick around, I turned back to Finnick's van, and we both got back inside.

"So, that went well?" I asked, wondering just how well this whole thing had gone for the fennec.

Finnick smiled as he started the engine. "Pretty damn well." He answered, driving out into the road as he did.

"Just solved our biggest problem." He added, sounding quite happy as he navigated through the streets of Tundratown.

I didn't respond, not wanting to kill Finnick's mood with reminders as we travelled back to the house with nothing but the sound of the engine pushing us forward.

I had zoned out for a while, lost in my own little world where time passed in an instant. Which is why I was surprised when I heard Finnick parked at a place I didn't recognize. Looking around, I saw we were still in Tundratown, in a parking lot in front of some store called 'Snarlbucks.' A coffee shop, if the styrofoam cups the people had were anything to go by.

"You want anything?" Asked Finnick, shutting down the van as he did.

"No thanks." I replied, already well past the point of sleepiness. He gave me a weird look at that as he hopped out of the van, walking through what was knee high snow to him.

What was that look for?

...Oh! Right, we're nocturnal. I forgot about that.

Us vulpines always needed a coffee every few hours to function during the day on Earth, no reason for it to be different here. While I used to be like any other fox in that regard, I managed to free myself of that need after eight years of training at the Protectorate.

And a few genetic tweaks.

You can never go wrong with those.

With that reminder out of the way, I waiting for Finnick to return. Something that was probably going to take a while, as the shop looked to be swarming with people looking for a morning pick-me-up. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I got up and walked through the gap in the seats in search of something interesting to pass the time with. And there were a lot of things to choose from in the back of Finnick's van.

The whole area was a mess, with everything not bolted to the van strewn about during our uncontrolled ride earlier. There was an overturned box near the back door that had various tools spilling out of it, a surprising amount of coloured pencils and paper laying on the ground, and CD cases of all things scattered through the vehicle.

Seriously, even for digital age, those things are old.

Taking a few steps forward, I immediately picked up an overwhelming scent. I actually had to place a paw on my nose to shield myself from its strength. I recognized the scent though, It was a scent any fox would recognize, the scent of a den. The marked scent telling anyone that this belonged to someone, in this case Finnick, and they entered at their own risk.

Didn't explain why it was so overwhelming though, I had to breath through my mouth as I continued into the back. Ignoring all the instinctual warnings and checked out Finnick's set up here.

There was a small and unmade bed pushed up against the side of the van. Directly opposite to it was a small flat screen TV bolted to the wall, supported by four speakers on all corners to create a surround sound system. Wires for all of this stuck to the wall with tape and trailed all around the van before meeting between the seats and retreating under the floorboard. Finishing off the whole thing were some empty shelves that were bolted to the walls as well.

I hummed at what must've been a lot of work. I really had to hand it to the little guy, he has a pretty nice setup here. His own little mobile home, too small for most people, but large enough for the relatively small fennec.

Looking more closely at everything, I noticed much of the paper strewn about had something on them. Picking up the closest one, I found the page absolutely filled with pencil drawings, all of which were coloured.

They were all about a single red fox, walking on all fours while carrying a bow tied snugly around his torso, and a quiver of arrows that had a closed top. Some of the drawings had the fox mid jump, arrow in the bow and ready to let it fly. Others had him upright, walking towards some unseen destination. While others were just his face with various emotions displayed on him.

The colouring reminded me of Nick, minus the tacky clothing. As the drawing had no clothes but the quiver on his back, the fox himself had the same fur and eye colouration as the guy.

Noticing the artstyle of this was the same as the van, I gave a low whistle.

Between this and the painting outside, Finnick is quite the artist.

Looking out the windshield, I saw Finnick walk of the store, styrofoam cup in paw. Knowing he wouldn't like me sitting in his den, I walked back in my seat, paper with me.

Opening the door, I saw Finnick struggle to pull himself up to the seat, a paw occupied in carrying the coffee.

"Need help?" I asked.

"No."

"Well if you change-"

"Fuck off, I don't need help." He interrupted, managing to pull himself up to his box as he did. Smiling at his success, he took the cap of his cup off and took a sip. With the steam rising from the hot drink, I took a few sniffs before I recognized the drink, a cappuccino, if I remembered correctly.

I didn't question how such a drink could be on this planet, I assume it will just a be mystery I take to my grave. I did bring up the paper I had gotten from the back, filled with his drawings and question him about those.

Finnick nearly dropped his drink in surprise, before narrowing his eyes at me. "You been going through my stuff?" He accused, sounding angrier than his deep voice made usual.

"It got boring up here, and the mess was just begging someone to poke around." I deflected, gesturing to the back of the van.

Finnick looked behind the seat, and his anger quickly gave way to annoyance as he muttered something about a 'pain in the ass.'

Pain in the ass is right, it would probably take hours to reorganize it all.

Finnick took another sip before turning to me. "If I ever find you going through my shit again, I'll bite your face off!" He threatened.

I suppressed a chuckle, I'd like to see him try.

I really had to hand it to Finnick, he knew how to tell a story.

The fox in that drawing was apparently supposed to be from ancient times, a warrior for the tribe of foxes that was native to what would become Zootopia. With foxes being excellent archers during that time, they had to make a pact with other tribes when a massive war broke out between the various tribes.

At least, that was the story. As Finnick had explained, no history textbook would ever tell this story, as it was purely an oral one. A story that has been retold from generation to generation, with plenty of room for the truth to be muddled as various interpretations are told instead of what actually happened.

It did provide an interesting reason for why we flip the bird the way we do. Two fingers up with their backs to the person, in the story, it was a taunt to other tribes who would threaten to cut the fingers of the foxes, and said vulpines would use those fingers to say 'come and get em.'

However, the story did provide Finnick with inspiration for his drawings, about how history was shaped by the supposed events during those times. When he wasn't working with Nick or doing maintenance on his van, he was drawing and writing a whole comic about those times.

I thought it was pretty damn good, and the little guy was more then happy to accept the praise, but he was not so keen when I suggested getting a publisher.

"Those prey suits never accept a pred." He had said, dismissing my claims otherwise.

I couldn't convince him that there were those out there who would be interested. For Finnick, he was more then happy to just draw as a hobby rather than waste time asking some 'prey suits' to publish something by a predator.

If only he knew, human publishers would kill for the chance to get what Finnick has here. The history of other races has always sold well in human space.

Our talk about history, Finnick's art, and publishers died out when we got back to the house. It was time to inform the others about the deal with Kozlov.

Walking through the light rain and wiping our feet once inside, we hung our coats and continued on. Coming into the dining room, where Clawhauser still sat at the table reading his book, I could hear the sound of a TV from the living room, while someone else could be heard in the kitchen.

Upon noticing us, Clawhauser smiled, "Your back!" He happily said, before noticing the case I was carrying with me. "What's in the briefcase?"

Placing the case on the table, I undid the locks and swung it open, revealing the weapon parts inside.

"A sniper rifle." I bluntly answered, feeling no desire to beat around the bush here.

Clawhauser had a delayed reaction, staring at us blankly before he blinked, then gasped at my answer.

"Wha… Why do you have that?!" He asked in shock, which quickly turned to horror. "Do you know how illegal that is?! This could get us into so much trouble! What would you even do wi-"

There was a flash of realization in his eyes as he suddenly stopped his horrified questioning. Ben let out a quiet 'oh.'

"Yeah." Said Finnick, saying all that really needed to be said.

I pulled out various essential parts of the weapon from their spots, I was unfamiliar with the model, so I wanted to spend some time and get used to it. As I did, I heard the TV in the living room turn off, while whoever was in the kitchen start making their way over. Clawhauser having been heard from their respective rooms.

"What's going on?" Honey asked, coming out of the kitchen, while Nick came out of the living room. Honey herself had a concerned look on her face, while Nick had a mask of utter neutrality over his emotions.

"We're killing the snitch." Finnick stated.

Both of them looked like they got hit by a train, their shocked faces sticking around for a few moments before they recovered. Nick's eyes narrowed at Finnick, an unspoken accusation was made, and Finnick responded.

"Don't start with your shit Nick, At least we're doing something about it." He said, narrowing his own eyes at Nick.

"The hell he is!" Honey injected, turning to me as she did. "You still have that limp, you're not doing anything when you can't even walk right, let alone run your dumbass away."

"It'll be gone by tomorrow." I replied. "Besides, I wouldn't have let Finnick talk me into this if I wasn't absolutely sure I could get away with it." I added.

Honey opened her mouth to retort, but found nothing to say, closing her mouth after a moment. However, Nick had plenty to say, to Finnick in particular.

"We're _not_ killing a mammal just because we owe money." Stated Nick, anger at Finnick leaking into his words.

"When are you gonna get it through your thick skull?" Asked the fennec. "We _have_ to."

"We don't _have_ to!" Growled Nick. "I know exactly how we can-"

"Shut up!" Interrupted Finnick, growing agitated as his voice rose. "There is **NO** way you're shitting your way out of this Nick!"

"What happened to 'lines we won't cross?'" Asked Nick, lips pulled back as he snarled, his collar turning yellow.

Finnick slammed his fist on the table, collar beeping out a warning as it turned a dangerous orange. Finnick ignored the warning.

"It died when you took money from Kozlov!" Yelled Finnick, losing his patience at his larger friend.

Nick didn't have a chance to respond before Finnick continued. "I told you that taking money from Kozlov was a bad idea! I told you we could've gotten the money doing our usual thing! I told you that if shit happened, we'd be fucked!" He screamed, letting all his anger out as his collar gave one final beep, before turning red.

"But you didn't li- Ah!"

Finnick's collar went off, the shock burrowing into the fennec instantly as the electric charge arched across his body. Finnick yelped in pain as he fell to his knees, the anger fueled argument triggering a shock more powerful than I had seen before.

Despite getting hit with a shock that could tame a lion, Finnick's anger got the better of him. Letting out a vicious growl, the hot tempered fennec was replaced by an avatar of fury as he tried to tear the collar with his claws.

"Finnick! Stop!" Shouted Nick, but it was too late, as the collar beeped once more and administered another shock to the little guy. This one was far worse, putting down Finnick on the floor as he screamed in pain, limbs twitching, clenching, and writhing, leaving deep scratches on the floor.

Clawhauser shot up from his seat to come help the poor fennec, but Honey grabbed his retreating tail, pulling it back and tripping Ben. Getting on his back, pinned the portly cheetah to the floor with her smaller but solid form.

"You can't touch him, Ben." She said.

Clawhauser gave an uncharacteristic growl as he tried to roll out from under the badger, but Honey simply pinned his arm.

"You _know_ how this goes, it'll only make it worse."

The cheetah gave the badger a look of worry for their friend, while Honey had a look of painful resignation. This look managed to convince Clawhauser of trying anything more, simply looking on as their friend suffered.

Having placed the partially assembled rifle on the table, I had been moving in to help Finnick as well, but Honey's words stopped me before I could take more than a few steps. The badger's warning forcing me to remain still against my raging desire to help, a desire to stop the horrific sight in front of me.

Finnick was laying on the floor has his chest heaved, the shocks having stopped as he tried to fight the tears the welled in the corners of his eyes. Curled into a fetal position, the hot tempered fennec looked broken, the rageaholic having been hit hard as a few whimpers emerge from his mouth.

I gulped at the sight, unconsciously pulling at my own collar.

Seeing that it was over, Honey let Clawhauser up as he rushed over to help the fennec. The cheetah pulling Finnick into the tightest hug I ever saw, the size difference ensuring the little guy almost disappeared under the overweight feline. Honey coming around just a moment later to make sure Ben didn't choke the little guy.

With Finnick in the care of Ben and Honey, I looked to Nick, who remained silent as the two helped the smaller fox.

The guy was stiff as a board, arms clenched, ears down, and eyes shut tightly in an attempt to save himself from the sight of his friend in pain. Even that was not enough it seemed, as just a few moments later, Nick walked out of the room, looking guilty as he ducked his head in shame.

I didn't have time to question Nick about that look before Clawhauser let Finnick back down on the ground. Finnick assured the three of us that he was fine, that he wasn't 'a weak bitch.'

Despite his tough guy act, he couldn't stop trembling.

* * *

 **So, that was Chapter 3, did you guys like it? Be sure to leave a review to tell me anything you did or didn't. I love hearing back from you guys and improving my writing.**

 **Speaking of, there are still some dialogue that I'm not quite sure about, some word on if my dialogue writing (and how shit I imagine it is) would be nice.**

 **Hopefully, next chapter wont take nearly as long.**


	5. Chapter 4: Rat Shot

**This chapter was supposed to be double the length, but some family drama halted work for a while and ensured that the second half would not be ready. And I wanted to get this out to you sooner rather then later, I split it up. I'm hoping nothing will conspire to delay the next chapter.**

 **Anyway, here is the 4th Chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

" _You know what an artist and a sniper have in common?"_

 _I merely blinked at him_

 _Seeing that me and everyone else in the room had no answer, he gave a tiny smile._

" _Details." He answered._

 _Johnny and I glanced at each other. Where is he going with this?_

 _Johnny shrugged, as if to say: 'How should I know?'_

" _Like when a touch of color is out of place…" The instructor continued._

" _When a shadow does not match with it's surroundings…" He paced around the antique sniper rifle he had on the table._

" _Or when a shape is not where it supposed to be." He finished, looking quite pleased with his little speech, before his smile disappeared and he gave every one of us a hard stare._

" _The only difference is the stakes…" He said, voice straight and serious as we all saw the scar in his eye. "...Our's are higher."_

 _WAT_ **ER**

* * *

I clenched my eyes shut as the sudden moisture interrupted the memory. The sting of those sensitive organs forcing me to rub them on the sleeve of the raincoat in a futile attempt to make ease the burning. Once the water had been cleared and the pain had ceased, I checked the roads for anything new. Seeing nothing, I sighed in annoyance.

It was rather quiet up here, the pitter-patter of rain providing a much needed ambience for my thoughts. The midday sun was blocked by a heavy cloud cover, providing a dreariness in the city to match the rain. The rain ensured that car and traffic was sparse, making even the deafening sounds of a major city subdued on this day. Despite the raincoat, the shower had managed to soak me to the bone, masking my scent from even the best of noses.

Which brings me right back to why I was reminiscing about training in the first place. I had never really taken that speech to heart, figured he was just being dramatic. But now, I finally saw that he was right, especially about the stakes. Failure here, would mean death for my new friends.

"No pressure." I mumbled as I surveyed the area from my rooftop position. Looking for anything that could affect the outcome of what I was about to do.

I adjusted my scope, zooming out to see the bigger picture. Sitting directly opposite of me was the courthouse, its large doors serving as the place where my window of opportunity ended. From the steps that led up to those doors, there was a bit of a walk to the road, with everywhere in between decorated with small gardens and benches.

Nothing down there was ideal cover by itself, but with my position on top of an apartment building, it was all completely useless.

This was good, considering there were already officers on the ground. Six of them in fact, all suited up in full twenty first century SWAT gear as they kept an eye out for anyone suspicious. Two cruisers sat on the side of the road, their lights flashing as they waited for their fellow officers to bring the target in.

Surprisingly, there was no one on the road or the sidewalk as the police guarded the area. Which is good, I wouldn't want others to get caught in the crossfire. I might've agreed to killing this one target, but causing harm 'just because' is **NOT** what I do, not what the Protectorate does either.

Despite the fact I am about to kill someone, I was the epitome of calmness. One might think that killing someone is a nerve racking experience, but I find it's surprisingly easy to kill.

I had to.

That's the type of being that the Protectorate wanted, someone with a strong set of morals who can (if reluctantly) break them. There are a lot of people who need help in the galaxy, and no organization can help them all, so a Protector being able to do morally questionable things for the greater good is paramount.

The truly hard part about it all, is living with everything afterwards.

Sure, it's not hard to feel bad ending the life of psychopaths and crime lords, but it's a lot harder to do the same those who weren't irredeemable. Or in my case; did nothing to warrant me killing them.

It's why I spent most of the day thinking back to training. Trying to distract myself from what I had to do. I wasn't that successful, but I was reminded of a piece of advice Johnny had given me during training.

' _We're just gonna have to carry that weight, and spend the rest of our lives making up for it.'_

I realized there's no turning back now. If there was another way to solve everything, the opportunity to take it has long since passed. The only thing I could do now, is kill the target, and try my hardest to do better in the future.

So here I was, standing in a puddle of rain on top of an apartment building, holding a sniper rifle and about to kill someone in front of a courthouse.

It almost felt... Normal.

Hearing the sounds of police sirens in the distance, I swung my rifle around to take a look through the scope. Observing the mostly empty roads below, I saw a convoy of three police cruisers, lights on and sirens blaring as they got closer to the courthouse.

Somewhere in there, is my target.

I adjusted my scope again, zooming into the center car. I assumed the target would be in the center of this convey, and so I kept my sights on the black and white vehicle as it drove along. Soon enough, the whole convoy pulled to the curve, their sirens silencing as the cars came to a full stop.

Fourteen police officers dressed in the same SWAT armour got out of the cruisers and took positions to guard the convoy while the first six converged to secure the path the courthouse. While all this was going on, I didn't see any non police down there, the target was nowhere to be seen.

I quickly snapped from position to position as I tried to find the target on my scope, but the guy refused to show himself to me.

I gulped. Is this a decoy?

While I frantically searched for the target, one of the officers, a rhino, went back to the center convoy to reach for something. Seeing this, I ceased my search as I watched the armoured cop. A few seconds passed as the rhino pulled out of the car and turned towards the courthouse.

My heart stopped when I saw what he had.

Standing comfortably on the rhino's palm, was a rat, just as small as his earthbound cousins.

Apparently the target being called a rat was _not_ just an insult.

I didn't really have time to worry about the wordplay though, as the guy's small size just made this shot a lot harder. My previous calmness lost, I suddenly became very aware of just how fucked my situation was. Just a gust of wind could turn a hit into a miss.

"I really wish I had some Self Guiding Rounds right now." I muttered.

Tracking the rat with my rifle, I slowed my breathing down, and inched my finger into the trigger guard. As my breath stopped as my finger met cold metal, I made one last correction to my aim as I looked through my scope.

Then I pulled the trigger.

An explosion echoed through the streets as the rifle recoiled backwards into my arm, my shoulder absorbing the force as the bullet sped through the air towards its target, carrying pure kinetic force for whoever it hits.

Unfortunately for me, my aim would not bring home a kill, as the bullet missed its intended target. The shot not only missing the rat, but also the palm he was standing on, hitting the arm of the rhino instead. Said arm jerked as the bullet impacted flesh, tearing through the meager barrier and exiting the other side. The sudden wound creating an explosion of blood soaking the officer as he fell to the ground in shock that quickly turned to pain.

With his platform disappearing out from under him, the rat fell with the rhino as the explosion boomed in the ears of those below. Immediately, the training of the officers kicked in as they realized what happened, all diving for whatever cover they could find.

"Shit." I cursed, blaming my sub par aim with a sniper rifle, when you have Self Guiding Rounds, it's easy to neglect practising without them.

That failure to practise was about to kill me, as I now had to try and pull off this shot while the cops down there were already alerted to my presence. Preparing for another shot, I pulled the lever back on the bolt action rifle. The weapon ejecting the spent bullet casing and pulling a fresh one from the attached magazine.

I have five shots left.

Immediately taking aim at the rat, who was running towards the police cruiser he was riding in, I fired another shot. Once again, the shot was heard all around the block as the bullet traveled at the running rodent. The shot impacted the ground right next to the rat but did no damage, only causing him to stumble.

I grit my teeth at my failure, pulling the lever back once more.

Four shots left.

By now, the rat had managed to retreat under the black and white cruiser, hiding from my sights while every other cop in the area was behind cover. The rhino I hit was pooling blood where he lay, staying down for fear that I might shoot him again. I could hear the officers below me shouting to each other, trying desperately to figure out where I was.

While the cops hide behind their useless cover, I never took my eyes off the car the rat had retreated under, unwilling to let the rodent get away from me. Half a minute passed before I realized that I would have to make the next move, as the rat seemed more than content to wait for support to arrive.

Looking around, I noticed that the cruiser the rat was hiding under was still running, its engine still turning fuel into power. I smiled as an idea came to mind. Positioning myself, I fired a shot into the hood of the car, a small fire rising out of the hole as I pulled the lever back.

Three shots left.

Soon, the cruiser would be engulfed in flames. Something the two cops who were hiding behind it knew as they made a run for different cover. The rat however, refused leave his hiding place.

This guy is gonna be burnt to a crisp if he doesn't move.

Wanting to force the rodent out into the open, I fired another shot into the engine. This one _really_ made it burn, the front seats quickly consumed by the inferno.

Two.

Finally forced from his hiding place, the rodent made a run for the courthouse of all things. I raised an eyebrow at the suicidal action, but didn't question it as I took aim once more at the fleeing rat. Pulling the trigger and firing another shot. The bullet landed just behind the tail, making the rat jump in fright as I pulled the lever back.

Last one.

Slowing my breath and smoothly tracking the rodent as he ran towards the courthouse before me, I pulled the trigger once I was certain of my aim. Feeling the recoil one final time, I watched the results of my shot.

This time, it hit the mark. The bullet, half the height of the target himself, impacted the rodent in the upper torso. The round tearing through flesh and bone like a knife through butter, with his small size, the rat didn't stand a chance as his upper body completely separated itself from everything below the waist. Spraying blood all around as the two halves were sent flying in different directions.

"Damn... that's gruesome." I said, unconsciously pulling the lever back one final time.

Suddenly, my ears twitched as the sound of gunfire reached them. Immediately, I threw myself to the ground as whistling rounds passed above me, while others simply slammed into my cover. As the barrage halted, I layed there on the ground, stunned by the cop's actions.

I set up here because it was an _apartment building_! Why the hell are they shooting at it?!

Getting to my feet, I pressed myself against the wall as I listened for anymore gunfire. My pointed ears picked up a lot of shouting, and a burning fire, but I didn't hear the clicks of a reload of a switched safety.

Slowly, I peeked my head out from cover, ready to dive back down if needed as I looked down at the road. My eyes widened at what I saw.

Almost every damn cop down there is rushing the entrance, they'll be up here soon.

Time to get the fuck out.

I rushed to my dropped rifle, pulling apart the various pieces as I placed them back into the briefcase. Every part had its spot, fitting snugly into the black foam of the case.

As I placed the final piece inside, I heard police sirens approaching the area. Panicking at the thought of facing even _more_ cops, I slammed the case shut and engaged the locks, taking off towards the other edge of the roof.

Reaching the edge, I took a moment to check the alleyway it led to. Seeing that no one was around, I vaulted over the edge. After a quick fall, I slammed into the ground, grimacing at the sound I made as the concrete was crushed under my weight.

Wasting no time, I got to my feet and ran to the alleyway exit. I stopped there to check outside before I left.

Three more cops cars had joined the party, the reinforcements they carried having joined the others in storming up through the apartment building to where I was just moments ago. This left the area down here largely deserted, with only a few hanging around to attend to the rhino with a first aid kit.

I didn't get a good look at the corpse, but I saw a lot of blood washed down the drain.

However, the rain failed to wash away the inferno that had consumed the cruiser I had shot. The fire roaring as everyone around kept their distance from the burning hazard.

Seeing that everyone's attention was elsewhere, I felt it safe enough to rush out of that alley and away from the courthouse. After just a few minutes of running, the red and blue lights of civil authority had faded, dodging the legs of larger pedestrians as I escaped.

Navigating through the sea of creatures larger than me was normally no difficulty, but with me rushing to get back to Finnick, and those around me rushing to get out of the rain, I was bound to run into something.

This was proved when I as I dodged the legs of a buffalo, I found myself heading straight into a pig. I tried to stop but it was far too late as I slammed into the mammal with a loud thud, sending us sprawling onto the ground. We both grunted in mutual pain at the collision as I lost grip of the briefcase.

While some glanced in our direction, no one felt the need to help as the two of us recovered. The pig getting back on his feet, still unsteady from the collision. While I remained on the ground, reaching for the case before anyone could steal it and the incriminating weapon inside.

With the case and its cargo in paw, I got onto my knees, looking over at the pig I had ran into.

"Sorry about that, my bad." I said to him, hoping the apology would be enough for the guy.

"Watch where you're going, chomper." He said back, narrowing his eyes at me before walking away.

I got back to my feet, glad to have avoided a fight. Only to be put back on the ground when something hard struck the back of my head. Groaning at the pain, I tried getting back to my knees, rubbing my aching head as footsteps faded behind me. It didn't take a genius to realize that pink motherfucker was responsible.

Grinding my teeth and lips pulled upwards into a snarl, my pain was forgotten as I imagined using the the briefcase to break that asshole's legs. The handle warping under my tightening fist as I got up to my feet, ready to turn around and show the pink fuck what a _real_ punch is.

My thoughts of violence were interrupted when a beep sounded from my collar, along with a orange light to accompany its warning. With Finnick's… Episode still fresh in my mind, the mere thought of getting shocked forced any thought of attacking the pig from my mind. Instead, I found myself taking deep breaths, doing everything I could to calm myself before that collar turned red. As the collar's light faded, I let out a sigh that held a mix of relief and despair.

I'm fucking _scared_ of this thing.

Me. A genetically enhanced super fox is scared of a fucking shock collar!

I took a deep breath before I got worked up again. If I play my cards right, I'll only have to deal with this for a month at the least.

My thoughts were interrupted when sirens sounded off near by. Whipping around in fright, I saw two more cop cars speeding towards where I came. Reminded of why I was rushing in the first place, I continued on towards Finnick at a brisk walk this time. Despite my slower speed, it didn't take long to get where Finnick was waiting, having already ran most of the way. Coming around a corner, I found the unmistakable artwork of his van in one of the roadside parking spots, right where I last saw it.

Walking over, I knocked on the door. I only had to wait for a moment before I saw Finnick poke his head over the window. Seeing me, his head retreated back down and the door swung open, revealing an impatient looking fennec.

"Bout time." He said before hopping over to the driver seat. "What took you so long?"

"Ran into an asshole on the way." I answered as I climbed into the passenger seat, closing the door behind me and sealing us from the outside world.

There was a certain kind of silence when it's raining, the water falling against the metal and glass creating a thousand little thuds. It created a sort of calmness in the noise, like when birds sing on a bright summer day. I didn't have much time to enjoy it though, as Finnick started the engine and pulled onto the road, the soft sound of rain being replaced with the far louder purr of an engine.

The trip back was painfully slow. The rain prevented any fast speeds and other drivers cut us off at every opportunity, ruining what little speed we did gain. Finnick nearly shocked himself again by the time we made it to Happytown, where traffic let up and allowed us to cruise home.

Despite how angry the drivers made him, I found bitching about traffic a welcome distraction to what happened today.

* * *

 **Please leave a review, it always motivates me when I read the things you say. As I keep saying, if you have any criticisms about the story, be sure to list them too, I always like improving as a writer.**


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